Phillies vs. Braves Pick
Will the Atlanta Braves be able to take the rubber match with the Philadelphia Phillies when the two meet tonight at 7:10PM ET?
GAME SNAPSHOT
(905) Philadelphia Phillies at (906) Atlanta Braves
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Location: SunTrust Park – Cumberland, Georgia
Weather: Sunny, 64 degrees, 6mph winds
Time: 7:10PM ET
CURRENT ODDS
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Atlanta is favored in this game, as the Braves are getting odds of -125 to win against Philadelphia. The Phillies are getting a money line of +105 to prevail. The over/under total is currently listed at 9 runs.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Today’s matchup has Vince Velasquez on the mound for the Phillies to face Brandon McCarthy of the Braves. Velasquez started 15 games for Philly last season and was just 2-7 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He had 68 strikeouts with 34 walks. McCarthy started 16 games for the Dodgers in 2017 and was 6-4 with a 3.98 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He had 72 strikeouts with 27 walks.
Bet on MLB for Saturday, March 31, 2018
PUBLIC BETTING INFORMATION
The public is backing the Phillies today. Philadelphia is currently getting 68 percent of the wagers for this game as the road underdog against the Braves.
KEY INJURIES
Atlanta catcher Kurt Suzuki is on the injury report for today’s game. He was hit by a pitch on the hand and had to leave the game and is listed as questionable to play today.
BETTING STRATEGIES
These two have split the first two games of the series. Atlanta earned an 8-5 win on Thursday while the Phillies answered with a 5-4 victory on Friday. Last night’s win came in 11 innings with Carlos Santana driving in the winning run on a sacrifice fly. Santana drove in three runs for the Phillies in the win.
Mike Foltynewicz pitched five innings in the start for the Braves and allowed just two earned runs with seven strikeouts. Nick Pivetta pitched four innings for the Phillies in his start. He allowed three runs with three strikeouts. Dansby Swanson had three hits to lead the Braves at the plate.
Velasquez didn’t have anything positive going for him last season and will have a lot of question marks heading into this start. McCarthy actually was able to do some good things in 2017 and I think he will have a solid enough start today to lead Atlanta to the win. The Braves have been competitive without good starting pitching thus far.
MLB PREDICTIONS: ATLANTA BRAVES -125