The two hottest teams in baseball collide when the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves square off on Friday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Reds (40-35) have won 11 straight games, the longest streak in the majors and the fourth longest win streak in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Braves (48-26) have the second longest winning streak in baseball at eight games. This is just the fifth time since 1900 that a regular-season series starts with two teams on at least eight-game winning streaks.
Atlanta is a -155 favorite in the latest MLB odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while Cincinnati is a +130 underdog. The over/under for runs scored is 11, and the game is one of 14 on the MLB schedule for Friday. Elsewhere in the majors, the Astros and Dodgers begin a three-game series in Los Angeles, and the Rangers visit the Bronx to start a three-game series against the Yankees. Before making any MLB picks or parlays, be sure to check out the MLB predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer simulation model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It went 331-285 on top-rated MLB money-line picks (+357) over the past two seasons. It has opened the 2023 MLB season on a 35-26 roll on all-top rated MLB picks. Anybody who has followed it has seen profitable returns.
For Friday, the model has locked in three confident MLB best bets. If you successfully parlay the picks, you'd be looking at a payout of more than 11-1. You can only see the model's MLB picks at SportsLine.
Top MLB picks today
The model, which ran 10,000 simulations on each of the 14 games on Friday, is taking Pittsburgh (+158) to knock off Miami. The Pirates' Ke'Bryan Hayes enters the game with a hot bat. In the month of June, the 26-year-old third baseman has a .365 batting average, which ranks fourth in the majors over that stretch. He also has a .933 OPS, three homers and 12 RBI. In Thursday's series opener against the Marlins, he had a home run and a double in four at-bats.
Hayes is batting .291 against lefties this season, which mirrors the team's success this season against southpaws. Pittsburgh is third in the NL this season in on-base percentage against lefties (.338). That bodes well for the Pirates, who square off against Marlins southpaw Jesus Luzardo (6-5, 4.09 ERA) on Friday. See who else to back here.
How to make Friday MLB parlays
The model also locked in two other best bets for Friday, including a play on an even bigger underdog. You can only see the model's MLB Friday best bets and parlay at SportsLine.
What MLB picks should you target for a payout of more than 11-1, and what big underdog does the model like on Friday? Visit SportsLine now to see the MLB best bets from an advanced model that is on a 35-26 run on top-rated money-line picks, and find out.
