The Cincinnati Reds host the Boston Red Sox on March 26, 2026. First pitch from Great American Ball Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on CINR.
The Red Sox are favored by -158 on the moneyline and by -1.5 on the run line. The Reds are +134 on the moneyline and +1.5 on the run line. The total is set at 8 runs.
Find my MLB SGP and Red Sox vs Reds parlay picks below, as well as probable pitchers, weather report, and more.
Red Sox vs Reds Odds
| Red Sox Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +110 | 8 -108o / -112u | -158 |
| Reds Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -132 | 8 -108o / -112u | +134 |
Red Sox vs Reds Parlay, Picks
Story: Lefty Ace Leads Sox to Victory in Season Opener
SGP Building Blocks
- Red Sox ML
- NRFI
Parlay Odds: +157 (FanDuel)
The Red Sox head to Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon to take on the Reds in the team’s season opener at Great American Ballpark.
I will be touching upon some great Same-Game Parlay (SGP) betting angles after briefly introducing the pitching matchup for Thursday’s contest.
Boston’s left-handed ace Garrett Crochet is set to take the bump for the Sox after a stellar 2025 campaign, finishing runner-up in the American League Cy Young Award voting to the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal.
The left-hander looks to build upon a phenomenal first season with the Red Sox, posting an impressive 18-5 record with a 2.59 ERA and having led all of baseball with 255 strikeouts.
Crochet enters the 2026 season as a frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young Award, and will surely be looking to start his season with an impressive showing on the road against a feisty Reds lineup.
Given that Reds ace Hunter Greene will start his 2026 season on the shelf after undergoing elbow surgery, Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott is set to take the mound following a remarkable 2025 season in which he ranked ninth in MLB with a 2.87 ERA, also ranking among the top 20 pitchers with a 1.15 WHIP.
In an elite pitching matchup featuring two lefty studs, I expect runs to come at a premium, as betting markets project a total of 8.5 runs on Thursday.
Given the expected dominance from both starting pitchers in this matchup, I will be selecting no runs to be scored in the first inning (NRFI) as a preliminary SGP building block in this season opener.
While the two left-handers are both coming off career-best seasons, not many would argue that Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is the superior pitcher in the matchup.
Also, my long-term expectations for Boston ahead of the 2026 season greatly outweigh those of the Reds, which is just one of several reasons I prefer the Sox in this season opener.
Upside Parlay
- Red Sox ML
- NRFI
- Trevor Story Over 1.5 TB
Parlay Odds: +374 (FanDuel)
Abbott has started just one game versus the Red Sox in his short-lived career, with the Cincinnati lefty fanning 10 batters in 5 2/3 innings of work, allowing two earned runs in the process.
This should not come as much of a surprise, given that Boston’s lineup features several left-handed hitters, of whom the Reds lefty boasts far superior splits than he does versus right-handed batters.
Abbott is renowned for his high-spin curveball that gives lefty hitters far more trouble than righties. The Reds' starter uses this pitch, among others, as part of an extremely versatile arsenal, making it very difficult for opposing hitters to anticipate when it is coming.
He has shown vast improvement in his splits among righties and has developed a very successful changeup to assist in that regard.
Though Abbott is coming off a tremendous 2025 season, he has struggled mightily in spring training, having just allowed five earned runs in four innings of work in his final outing in the Cactus League. This has me relatively concerned prior to facing a strong Boston lineup.
The best prop market betting angle I plan to target in this matchup is the few right-handed hitters in the Red Sox opening day lineup. In this case, I will be looking to back Boston shortstop Trevor Story, who has yet to face Abbott thus far.
Longshot Contrarian
- Red Sox ML
- NRFI
- Trevor Story Over 1.5 Total Bases
- Elly De La Cruz Over 1.5 Total Bases
Parlay Odds: +1632 (FanDuel)
To add even further value to an SGP wager ahead of Thursday’s season opener, I will be targeting a hitter in the Reds lineup that I believe has the most upside to find success against Crochet.
When betting SGPs, I often take an approach of pairing my preferred side with a player prop from the opposing team — a very successful strategy to maximize value when constructing same-game parlays.
While Sox ace Crochet thrives pitching against hitters on both sides of the plate, he has pitched slightly better against lefties, which, like Abbott, is pretty common among the splits of left-handed pitchers.
Though recording just one hit in five plate appearances versus Crochet, Reds superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz is the clear hitter to target in Cincinnati's opening day lineup.
The 24-year-old has already proven himself to be one of MLB's best players, boasting a unique combo of speed and power that is second to none.
Elly’s skill set also includes his prowess as a switch-hitter. While the Reds youngster hits for more power on the left side of the plate, he hits for greater contact on the right side, which will surely improve his chances against Crochet, whose cutter often results in hard-hit ground balls down the line.
The Red Sox ace threw his fastball at a near-55% rate in 2025, which is far from the type of pitch Elly has success against when batting on the right side of the plate.
Despite being rather susceptible to striking out, De La Cruz has also shown great plate discipline, especially facing off-speed pitches.
If Elly is patient in the box, waiting for Crochet to throw a slider away or high-velocity changeup, he could surely rip one through the infield and use his ridiculous speed to stretch a routine single into a double.
