Atlanta Braves (36-39, third in the NL East) vs. Cincinnati Reds (37-37, third in the NL Central)
Cincinnati; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Ian Anderson (5-3, 3.33 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 79 strikeouts) Reds: Luis Castillo (2-10, 5.61 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 74 strikeouts)
LINE: Reds -121, Braves +110; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Ronald Acuna Jr. and the Braves will take on the Reds Saturday.
The Reds are 17-17 on their home turf. The Cincinnati offense has compiled a .250 batting average as a team this season, good for fifth in the majors. Nick Castellanos leads the team with an average of .349.
The Braves are 16-19 on the road. Atlanta has slugged .423, good for second in the MLB. Ronald Acuna Jr. leads the team with a .592 slugging percentage, including 37 extra-base hits and 20 home runs.
The Braves won the last meeting 3-2. Drew Smyly earned his fifth victory and Dansby Swanson went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI for Atlanta. Vladimir Gutierrez registered his second loss for Cincinnati.
TOP PERFORMERS: Castellanos leads the Reds with 96 hits and has 43 RBIs.
Ozzie Albies leads the Braves with 72 hits and is batting .256.
LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 4-6, .241 batting average, 4.12 ERA, outscored by seven runs
Braves: 6-4, .210 batting average, 3.19 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
INJURIES: Reds: Lucas Sims: (elbow), Michael Lorenzen: (shoulder), Jeff Hoffman: (shoulder), Sonny Gray: (groin), Michael Feliz: (elbow), Brandon Bailey: (elbow), Nick Senzel: (knee), Max Schrock: (calf), Mike Moustakas: (heel), Alex Blandino: (hand).
Braves: Huascar Ynoa: (hand), Touki Toussaint: (right shoulder), Mike Soroka: (achilles), Max Fried: (finger), Grant Dayton: (shoulder), Tucker Davidson: (forearm), Marcell Ozuna: (hand), Alex Jackson: (left hamstring), Travis d'Arnaud: (left thumb).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
