Atlanta Braves right hander Tim Hudson (14-5), a leading candidate for the National League Cy Young Award, will take the mound at Cincinnati tonight with hopes of picking up his 15th win of the season. Hudson has gone 8-0 in his last 10 starts and is the National League leader in wins and is tied for fifth in ERA (3.02). On the road Hudson is 6-1 with a 2.90 ERA. The Reds will counter with rookie left hander Phil Dumatrait, who is 0-1 with a 10.32 ERA over three appearances of which he pitched 11 innings.
In spite of this being a road game, oddsmakers at Bodog.com favor the Braves both on the money line (-200) and the run line (-130) with the total holding at 10. An over total bet has a -120 price while the under is at even money. The Reds are getting +180 money line juice with +110 on the run line.
The Reds are beginning their home stand with the Braves after coming off a successful six game road trip where they went 4-2, their first winning road trip since June of last year. On Sunday Bill Bray got the win for the Reds in their 7-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in front of a sellout crowd at MillerPark. The Reds overcame a 5-run deficit after starter Aaron Harang gave up a season high 6-runs over 6 2/3 innings.
Also on Sunday, veteran hurler John Smoltz dominated through eight innings, setting the Braves franchise strikeout record and snapping the surging Arizona Diamondbacks' four-game winning streak. The Braves desperately needed a win to avoid a three game sweep by the Diamondbacks in order to stay in contention for the NL Eastern Division crown.
