elly-de-la-cruz-cbs.jpg
Imagn Images

Just three MLB games take place Thursday, July 31, as most of the baseball world has focused on the MLB trade deadline today. One of today's three games on the diamond sees the Cincinnati Reds host the Atlanta Braves at 7:10 p.m. ET. The game will air on MLB Network. The Reds made a few big splashes in the trade market on Wednesday, acquiring third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes from the Pirates and starting pitcher Zack Littell from the Rays. 

Baseball fans wanting to get into MLB betting at the top sportsbooks can get the latest Braves vs. Reds predictions and player props from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every game 10,000 times. 

The Reds will start standout lefty Andrew Abbott on Thursday. The young southpaw has been stellar this year to the tune of an 8-1 record and lowly 2.09 ERA in 18 starts. He has allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his last eight starts. The Braves turn to veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 5.91 ERA), who they acquired from the Yankees recently, Carrasco has completed five innings of work just once in his past four starts, and hasn't appeared in an MLB game since early May.

Abbott's strikeout prop at FanDuel Sportsbook is 4.5 (Over -152, Under +120), while Carrasco's is at 3.5 (Over -132, Under +104). The SportsLine Projection Model rates Abbott Under 4.5 as a 2.5-star play. 

Austin Riley has the shortest odds to homer of all players in tonight's game at +250, with Braves teammate Matt Olson right behind at +285. Elly De La Cruz leads the way for the Reds at +320, followed by Will Benson at +340. Olson and De La Cruz have gone yard the most times this season among all players in this game, each doing so 18 times. 

The Reds are -164 favorites (wager $164 to win $100) in the latest SportsLine consensus odds, while the Braves are +136 (wager $100 to win $136) underdogs. The total is at 9, with the Under favored at -118. You can find the model's latest projections and expert picks for Braves-Reds at SportsLine.

Here are the SportsLine model's projections for Braves vs. Reds on Thursday.

ATLANTA BRAVES at CINCINNATI REDS | 7/31 | 7:10 p.m. ET

Money line
Pick: Reds -164
Cincinnati wins in 60% of simulations

Run line
Pick: Braves +1.5 (-140)
Atlanta covers in 63% of simulations, bringing value at these odds

Over/Under
Pick: Under 9 (-118)
The Under hits in 58.8% of simulations

Projected score: Reds 4.8, Braves 4.3