Braves vs. Reds Friday MLB probable pitchers, odds: Despite 11-game winning streak, Cincinnati solid home underdog in historically rare matchup

Has a Major League Baseball team on a double-digit winning streak with a rest advantage over its opponent ever been a home underdog? I'm sure it has happened previously, but I can't recall such a situation. That's exactly the case Friday as the scorching-hot Cincinnati Reds look to win their 12th in a row but are +130 home dogs at Caesars Sportsbook against the Atlanta Braves -- who themselves are on an eight-game winning streak. We may not see another matchup like this for years.

Cincinnati was 29-35 and largely an afterthought in the NL Central when this streak began. Even earlier this week, the Reds were still the betting long shots to win the division at Caesars Sportsbook. Now they lead the Central by 1.5 games, yet still are +300 second favorites to win it behind second-place Milwaukee.

The 11-game winning streak is the Reds' longest since they won 12 straight in 1957 – the Big Red Machine never did this. They have outscored foes 68-43 in this run. The franchise record for consecutive wins is 14, set from July 26-Aug. 12 in 1899. These Reds and the 1890 Louisville Colonels are the only teams in MLB history with an 11-game win streak a season after losing 100 games. The Colonels' run ended at 11 on Aug. 24, 1890, with a 10-4 loss at the St. Louis Browns. There have been 10 previous 10-game winning streaks in Reds history. Three of those teams won the World Series: 1919, 1940 and 1975. Cincy is currently +8000 to win the 2023 Fall Classic.

Winning streaks can be fluky – just look at pitiful Oakland winning seven straight earlier this year. The Reds have somewhat been beating up on bad teams: Two wins in St. Louis (huge disappointment), three in Kansas City (terrible), three in Houston (still good) and three vs. Colorado (terrible). The Reds were underdogs in the Cardinals and Astros games. A $100 rollover bet on the Reds would have made $76,565 during the winning streak.

This is just the fifth time since 1900 that a regular-season series starts with two teams on at least eight-game winning streaks. The others:

• 2021: Braves vs Yankees (both on nine-game streaks)
• 1975: A's vs White Sox (both on eight)
• 1906 Giants vs Cubs (NY eight, CHI 10)
• 1901 Pirates vs Phillies (PIT 10, PHI 9)

Journeyman Luke Weaver (1-2, 6.47 ERA) is on the mound Friday and he might be the weak link of what is a very shaky and banged-up Reds rotation right now. Weaver is 3-0 this month despite a 10.13 ERA – which tells you how the Cincy offense has been going. This will be Weaver's seventh career appearance vs. the Braves but first with Cincinnati. He's 2-4 with a 4.91 ERA in the first six. NL MVP favorite Ronald Acuña Jr. has hammered him, going 4-for-11 with two doubles and a homer. The Reds were off Thursday, so they will have a full bullpen behind Weaver.

Atlanta finished a two-game sweep in Philadelphia on Thursday with a 5-1 win in 10 innings for its eighth win in a row – the game was scoreless through nine. Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run homer to cap a five-run 10th inning. All-Star candidate catcher Sean Murphy pinch-hit in the ninth inning, striking out in his first appearance since tweaking his right hamstring in Saturday's win over Colorado. He's day-to-day.

It's 20-year-old rookie AJ Smith Shawyer (1-0, 2.03) on the mound for Atlanta in his fourth big-league appearance and first vs. Cincinnati. The Braves are 3-0 in his starts, but he has yet to last six full innings. The 2021 seventh-round pick is ranked as the franchise's No. 1 overall prospect. 

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