Getty Starting pitcher Trevor Bauer of the Cincinnati Reds.
A hard-hitting Atlanta Braves team plays host to a surging Cincinnati Reds squad as they open up a best-of-three NL wild-card series on Wednesday.
Game 1 will be televised on ESPN, and Games 2 and 3 will be on an ESPN network. But if you don’t have cable, here’s how to watch a live stream of every Reds vs Braves wild-card game online for free:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN, ESPN2 and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which you can use for free with a seven-day trial right here:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Reds vs Braves live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
You can also watch the games live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Fubo credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ESPN, ESPN2 and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which you can use for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch the Reds vs Braves live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
You can also watch the games live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Vidgo credentials to do that.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN, ESPN2 and 30-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle. It comes with a free three-day trial, but if you bypass that, you can get it for $20 for the first month (normally $30), and get Showtime, Starz, and Epix included for free:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Reds vs Braves live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
You can also watch the games live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 10 hours of cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN, ESPN2 and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch the Reds vs Braves live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
You can also watch the games live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Reds vs Braves Preview
The Cincinnati Reds enter the postseason on a high note and are playing their best baseball of the season, winning 11 of their final 14 games. Despite matching up with the No. 2 seeded Braves in the wild-card round, the Reds are as dangerous as anyone to pull off the upset.
“Teams that have built momentum going into the playoffs are a dangerous team, so we have a lot to prove,” Cincinnati reliever Michael Lorenzen said. “And a team that has a lot to prove is a dangerous team. We’re excited about it.”
The Reds will trot out NL Cy Young favorite Trevor Bauer for Game 1. Bauer is coming off a shortened season where he led the league in ERA (1.73). The Braves have been hitting the ball well — ranking second in batting (.268), runs (348), home runs (103) and slugging (.483) — but Bauer will try to limit them as much as possible.
“Make them beat me and don’t beat myself,” Bauer told reporters. “Limit the walks. Try to execute as many good pitches as possible so I can limit the hits. The less traffic you have on the bases, the better off you usually are, so that’s been the goal for me, really, all year.”
Starting for the Braves is Max Fried, who was 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 56 innings pitched. However, his postseason experience is limited, having only pitched in relief previously.
“You understand the difference between playoff baseball and the regular season, obviously,” Fried told reporters. “The stakes are higher. The intensity is higher. It’s going to be a little different without the energy that the fans bring in, but I still think everyone is going to be able to bring that same intensity to playoff baseball, knowing how important these games are.”
A player to watch on the Braves side will be Freddie Freeman, who rebounded from a COVID-19 battle in training camp to being an MVP contender. Freeman hit .341 with 13 homers and 53 RBIs this season.
”I like it. It’s fun,” Freeman told reporters Tuesday. ”If anybody didn’t think they would win the series on either side, they shouldn’t be here. It’s all in fun. We’re all having a good time. We’re just excited to play tomorrow.”
Atlanta is slightly favored in Game 1 at -126. The total for the game is set at 7.5 runs.