Atlanta hosts Cincinnati, looks to build on Soroka's solid outing
Cincinnati Reds (50-56, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Atlanta Braves (64-45, first in the NL East)
Atlanta; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Anthony DeSclafani (6-5, 4.01 ERA) Braves: Max Fried (11-4, 4.21 ERA)
LINE: Braves favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Atlanta heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Mike Soroka. Soroka went seven innings, surrendering one run on three hits with three strikeouts against Washington.
The Braves are 30-23 on their home turf. Atlanta has a team on-base percentage of .333, good for second in the National League. Freddie Freeman leads the club with a mark of .390.
The Reds are 21-30 on the road. The Cincinnati pitching staff owns a combined team ERA of 4.03, Sonny Gray paces the staff with a mark of 3.38.
TOP PERFORMERS: Freeman leads the Braves with 54 extra base hits and is slugging .557. Ozzie Albies is 12-for-42 with six doubles, a home run and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Atlanta.
Eugenio Suarez leads the Reds with 47 extra base hits and has 71 RBIs. Josh VanMeter is 11-for-26 with two doubles, three home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games for Cincinnati.
LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 5-5, .277 batting average, 4.65 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs
Reds: 6-4, .286 batting average, 4.85 ERA
Braves Injuries: Jacob Webb: 10-day IL (elbow), Darren O'Day: 60-day IL (forearm), Max Fried: 10-day IL (blister), Grant Dayton: 10-day IL (toe), Nick Markakis: 10-day IL (wrist), Dansby Swanson: 10-day IL (foot).
Reds Injuries: Tyler Mahle: 10-day IL (hamstring), Derek Dietrich: day-to-day (knee), Juan Graterol: 7-day IL (head), Curt Casali: 10-day IL (knee).
