Atlanta Braves vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/29/2026

Game Time: 6:40 pm ET, Friday, May 29, 2026

Venue:  Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Braves -137, Reds +114; Over/Under:  9.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Braves -135, Reds +115; Over/Under:  9.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Braves -140, Reds +115; Over/Under:  9.5 runs

Atlanta Braves:  37-19 (1st place, NL East)

Cincinnati Reds:  29-26 (4th place, NL Central)

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Atlanta Braves:  6-4 last 10

Cincinnati Reds:  5-5 last 10

The Braves lost their 3-game series against the Washington Nationals 2-1. They enter this game with a 37-19 record overall and have a road record of 20-9. This is the series opener of a 3-game series with the Reds on Friday with the series finale of their series against the Boston Red Sox still to be played on Thursday. The Braves won the series opener on Tuesday and lost the 2nd game on Wednesday. Their offense ranks 3rd in the MLB with a .751 OPS. Chris Sale is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Grant Holmes is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 3-2 with a 3.78 ERA this season. His team won 5 of their last 6 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 2 ER, 2 HR, and 2 BB with 10 SO on 6 hits through 5 IP against the Washington Nationals.

The Reds are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the New York Mets 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 29-26 record overall and have a home record of 14-12. This is the 1st game of a 3-game series with the Braves on Friday and they have Thursday off as a day of rest. Their offense ranks 13th in the MLB with a .707 OPS. Andrew Abbott was their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Chris Paddack is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 0-6 with a 6.86 ERA this season. His team lost their last 7 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 0 homers, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts on 7 hits through 5 innings pitched against the St Louis Cardinals.

The current betting odds have the Braves listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Braves have looked great in their games this season with their 37-19 record overall which has them right at the top of the NL East with the best record in MLB. They have been a great road team too with their 20-9 road record this year. Meanwhile, the Reds have looked good in their games this season with their 29-26 record overall, but that record has them right near the bottom of the NL Central. They have looked good in their own ballpark too with their 14-12 home record this season. The Braves haven't been at their best lately, but they are still 6-4 in their last 10 games and they are going to have the better pitching matchup in this one. The Braves are going with Holmes in this one and he hasn't looked bad this season. He is 3-2 with a 3.78 ERA and the team has been having a ton of success with him this year. He is off a good start in which he gave up 2 earned runs and the team has won 5 of their last 6 games with him starting too. The Reds are going with Paddack in this one and he has looked terrible this season. He is 0-6 with a 6.86 ERA and he has been giving up a ton of runs in his starts all year. He only gave up 3 earned runs in his last start, but that isn't that great and giving up runs has been a common theme for him this year. He has already bounced around teams this season too, now on his 3rd team of the year, and his team has lost 7 games in a row now with him in the game. It doesn't help that the Braves have one of the best offenses in MLB too and they are going to put up runs here. All signs point to the Braves winning this one. The best way to place a bet here is on the Braves to win this game. 

Braves Reds Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, May 29, 2026 (6:40 pm ET start time) is Braves 8 Reds 4.

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Atlanta Braves: 30-34 (-14.4 units) on the moneyline against NL Central opponents. 202-180 (-39.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 156-118 (-29.8 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 38-26 UNDER against NL Central opponents.

Cincinnati Reds: 141-137 (+7.6 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 92-84 (+26.5 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a winning record. 32-21 (+19.3 units) on the moneyline vs. NL teams allowing 4.0 or less runs/game on the season. 30-20 UNDER as a home underdog of +100 or higher.

Atlanta Braves:  H. Waldrep (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. D. Baldwin (C) Ten Day IL - Oblique. K. Farmer (DH) Ten Day IL - Forearm. S. Murphy (C) Ten Day IL - Finger. D. Young (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. A. Smith-Shawver (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Wentz (RP) Sixty Day IL - Knee. S. Schwellenbach (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Jimenez (RP) Sixty Day IL - Knee.

Cincinnati Reds:  R. Lowder (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. K. Hayes (3B) Ten Day IL - Back. J. Trevino (C) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. E. Pagan (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Hamstring. B. Williamson (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. H. Greene (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“This game, these guys make it look really easy, but the game is extremely fast at this level. A rehab assignment does no justice to how fast this game is up here. So it just takes time to get caught up.” - Walt Weiss on Ha-Seong Kim’s offensive troubles.

“I don’t have an answer for you right now. If we ran into an issue, in a way that’d be good (because he’d be deep into the season healthy). There will be a lot of opinions on this. I would certainly be open to listening to the trainers and certainly DJ. I also think guys show you if they need a blow or if they don’t. If you see pitchers losing range of motion, or if their delivery is lower — with analytics you can really track that stuff now— that’s more important than a hard pitch count or a hard innings limit. It’s how guys are doing.” - Terry Francona on the plan for Chase Burns.

Ronald Acuña Jr. (R) RF

Mauricio Dubón (R) LF

Matt Olson (L) 1B

Ozzie Albies (S) 2B

Austin Riley (R) 3B

Michael Harris II (L) CF

Jorge Mateo (R) SS

Dominic Smith (L) DH

Sandy León (S) C

Blake Dunn (R) RF

Elly De La Cruz (S) SS

JJ Bleday (L) LF

Sal Stewart (R) 3B

Eugenio Suárez (R) DH

Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B

Spencer Steer (R) 2B

Tyler Stephenson (R) C

TJ Friedl (L) CF

Batting Average:  José Azócar (.333)

Hits:  Ozzie Albies (58)

Home Runs:  Matt Olson (15)

RBI:  Matt Olson (44)

Stolen Bases:  Ronald Acuña (8)

Wins:  Chris Sale (7)

Saves:  Raisel Iglesias (9)

ERA:  Anthony Molina (0.00)

Batting Average:  Blake Dunn (.333)

Hits:  Elly De La Cruz (62)

Home Runs:  Sal Stewart (12)

RBI:  Elly De La Cruz (37)

Stolen Bases:  Sal Stewart (10)

Wins:  Chase Burns (7)

Saves:  Emilio Pagán (6)

ERA:  Caleb Ferguson (0.00)

Managers:

Atlanta Braves: Walt Weiss (1st season)

Cincinnati Reds: Terry Francona (2nd season)