The Cincinnati Reds have bounced back from a three-game sweep against the Yankees in the middle of the month to win six of their past eight games going into Wednesday. The oddsmakers have enlisted the Reds as a longshot to make much of an impact this season and not even a recent stretch of winning appears to change that. Currently, the Reds sit at +80000 to win the World Series at FanDuel Sportsbook.Cincinnati is +2800 to win the NL Central, still the longest shot of the five teams in the division. The Milwaukee Brewers are the betting favorite at -145 followed by the Cardinals (+235), Cubs (+850) and Pirates (+1200). The Reds are +1900 to just make the postseason in any form, which really shows how down many are on the historic franchise.Nevertheless, they won their fourth straight game Tuesday, holding on for a 9-8 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Ben Lively had another solid start, pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings and striking out six. Outfielder Jose Barrero hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to put the Reds up 7-0. Boston scored five in the ninth inning to make the game close. Cincinnati was +150 moneyline underdogs in the game and -120 on the +1.5 run line. The 17 runs easily surpassed the total run line and paid out at -110 odds.On the individual side, shortstop Matt McLain was called up on May 15 and the Reds’ first-round pick in the 2021 draft has quickly shown himself to be a future star. He was named the National League Player of the Week after hitting .484 against the Cardinals and the Cubs helping the Reds go 5-2 against their divisional opponents that week. The 23-year-old had three doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs and nine runs scored during the week. After going 1-for-6 against the Red Sox on Tuesday, McLain has a slash line of .357/.429/.554 through 13 games. The early surge has McLain shooting up the odds boards for NL Rookie of the Year, where he is currently at +2500 at FanDuel. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ star outfielder, Corbin Carroll, is the current odds-on favorite to win the award at +125.
