<p>The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves begin their quest for a repeat when they open this 2022 MLB betting season by hosting the Cincinnati Reds Thursday evening down in Georgia. Atlanta only won 88 games last season but got hot in October and steamed its way toward the title. On the other hand, Cincinnati played well last season but faded late and missed the playoffs again.</p>
<p>Lefty Max Fried gets the Opening Day pitching assignment for the home team here against Tyler Mahle for the visitors. How are we playing this game with our <strong>free baseball betting pick</strong>?</p>
<h2>MLB Betting Odds </h2>
<p>Baseball's Opening Day betting lines opened Atlanta and Fried at around -210 over Cincy and Mahle, with an over/under of eight runs. Early betting action then bumped the Braves a dime to -220.</p>
<p>Atlanta could also be found getting around +110, giving the run and a half on the run line. </p>
<h2>Reds-Braves MLB Betting Preview</h2>
<p>Cincinnati played 83-79 last season, sneaking over its season wins over/under of 81.5. The Reds played a bit above their heads for most of last season and owned one of the NL playoff wild-card spots on Sept. 4. But Cincy played 10-13 from there and came up short.</p>
<p>Then over the off-season, the Reds lost three guys, Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, and Jesse Winker, who combined to hit 89 home runs and knock in 250 runs last year. So there's a lot of production to be replaced in that Cincinnati line-up.</p>
<p>The Reds will go off this season playing against a wins over/under of 74.5.</p>
<p>Atlanta, meanwhile, played 88-73 last season, actually playing under their wins O/U of 91.5. But the Braves finished 12-2 to win the NL East, then beat Milwaukee and the Dodgers to win the NL pennant, then beat Houston in six games in the World Series. </p>
<p>Over the off-season, Atlanta lost former NL MVP Freddie Freeman but replaced him with former Oakland A Matt Olson.
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<p>The Braves are playing against a wins over/under this season of 90.5.
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<p>Atlanta took the season series from Cincinnati last year four games to three. </p>
<h2>Thursday's Pitching Match-Up </h2>
<p>Lefty Fried hit 16/28 on quality starts in the regular season last year, then 3/5 in the playoffs, and won the deciding Game 6 in the World Series. Fried posted a 3.04 ERA over 165 2/3 innings last year with a 1.09 WHIP, which is nice, and a 158/41 strikeouts/walks ratio, which is nice, too. </p>
<p>Atlanta played 18-10 with Fried last year, then 3-2 in the playoffs.</p>
<p>Over two career starts against Cincinnati, one in 2019 and one in 2020, Fried allowed just one run and ten hits through 13 innings. The Braves won both those games, and both games played under their totals.
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<p>Mahle, meanwhile, is coming off the best season of his young career. He hit 11/33 on quality starts last season and posted a 3.75 ERA over 180 innings with a 1.23 WHIP and a 210/64 K/BB ratio.
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<p>The Reds played 20-13 with Mahle last year, which means they were three games under .500 without him.</p>
<p>Over three career starts against Atlanta, two back in 2018 and one last year, Mahle allowed ten runs and 14 hits over 17 innings. Cincinnati played 1-2 in those three games.<br />
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#008000;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Get more details:</span></span> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1597741">Cincinnati at Atlanta 4/7/22 Betting Stats</a></span>
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<h2>Splits With the Sticks </h2>
<p>Cincinnati batted .225 against left-handed pitching last season, with a .307 team OBP and a .378 team slugging percentage. Numbers like those are why we ranked the Reds among the bottom two or three line-ups in the Majors in that split last year. </p>
<p>Atlanta slashed .245/.321/.440 against right-handed pitching last season. </p>
<h2>The Bullpens</h2>
<p>The Reds bullpen posted a 4.99 ERA last season, along with a 1.38 WHIP and a 2.35 K/BB ratio.<br />
The Braves pen put up a 3.97 ERA last year, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 2.47 K/BB ratio.</p>
<h2>MLB Betting Trends </h2>
<ul>
<li>The Reds played 39-42 on the road last season.</li>
<li>The Braves played 42-38 at home last season.</li>
<li>The Reds played 21-20 against left-handed starters last season.</li>
<li>The Braves played 65-55 against right-handed starters last season.</li>
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<h2>Totals Report</h2>
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<li>The overs played 81-73 in Reds games last season.</li>
<li>The Under was 75-74 in Braves games last season.</li>
<li>The Over was 40-31 at Truist Park last season.</li>
<li>The Over was 17-14 with Fried last season.</li>
<li>The Over was 16-15 with Mahle last season.</li>
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