MLB Betting Odds: Phillies Favored Over Atlanta Braves
Atlanta hits the weekend in dire straights having dropped 11 of its last 15 and winning just four of 16 on the road. The Braves face an uphil battle this weekend in Philadelphia.
The best and worst of the NL East square off in Philadelphia this weekend. No, the Nationals aren't in town to take on the first-place Phillies. Instead, the Phils will be hosting the last-place Atlanta Braves.
Friday's series opener will find the home team 120-130 chalk over the Braves with the total a nice round 10.
It's hard to believe that 87-year-old Jamie Moyer (3-2, 5.70) can be 130 chalk against anyone. Well, maybe if Jose Lima made a comeback. But Moyer is, and against a decent veteran arm in Atlanta's Derek Lowe (4-2, 5.18). That should tell you how well the Phillies are playing, how poorly Lowe is pitching, or how poorly the Braves are playing.
Or in the case of Friday's game, all of the above.
Philadelphia just finished taking three of four from the Cardinals who, despite losing three of four still own the second-best record in the NL. The Phils were sparked in the three wins by their pitching. Starters Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick and Roy Halladay each pitched lights out in the three wins, and the bullpen was just as good. St. Louis managed just three in the final 30 innings of the series.
Atlanta hits the City of Brotherly love in a bad way. The Braves have dropped 11 of their last 15, with three of the four wins a home sweep over the woeful Astros last weekend. The were being no-hit until the eighth inn on Thursday in Washington where they dropped two of three. Atlanta is just 4-12 away from home this season and having trouble scoring runs.
They may have more trouble scoring in this series with slugging rookie Justin Heyward nursing a sore groin. He's expected to be missing from Friday's starting lineup, and possibly beyond.
We're also getting to that time of year that we have recent matchups to consider with this the second seried between the two NL East rivals in 2010. The Phils took two of three in Atlanta a little more than two weeks ago. One of the wins was a Moyer, Lowe collision, an 8-3 triumph for the Phils in the rubber game.
Atlanta had won all three of Lowe's starts versus the Phillies in 2009, with the right-hander pitching well in all three.
The first two games of the previous series were tight, low-scoring games. The Braves won the opener 4-3 in 10 innings, stealing that one in the end to spoil a fine outing by Kendrick for the Phillies. Halladay came back with a complete game 2-0 shutout in Game 2. Moyer's win in Game 3 was as a 140 underdog, and the only 'over' of the series after a run of three 'unders' between the two dating to the end of the '09 season.
Lowe and Moyer have three quality starts between them in 11 assignments. It just so happens that Moyer's lone quality start came against the Braves and Lowe who surrendered five runs (four earned) in his five innings.
Picking a side in this one comes down very simply to how much do you trust Moyer and the Phillies bullpen. Philadelphia relievers worked 8 1/3 innings in the Cardinals series, not bad by standards these days, especially when you consider one of the games went an extra six outs.
Atlanta relievers worked eight innings versus the Nats. Braves relievers aren't the issue, it's their offense. Atlanta is the third lowest-scoring team in the NL and about to face the team that is third in the Senior Circuit. In the meetings at Citizens Bank Park last season, six of the nine went 'under' with one 'push.' The split was 2-1 or 2-0-1 'under' in each series, with each 'over' a real scoreboard buster. The two 'overs' saw 23 and 17 runs scored.
The 'push' was really a no-action contest with Atlanta taking a 9-1 rain-shortened affair. The total in that one had been set at eight with Lowe facing Cliff Lee.
Weather could be of assistance for 'over' bettors. Forecasts call for a south wind in the evening at 8-12 mph (out to center). Overall, should be a nice day in the Philadelphia area with afternoon highs in the mid-70s mostly clear skies.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
Atlanta hits the weekend in dire straights having dropped 11 of its last 15 and winning just four of 16 on the road. The Braves face an uphil battle this weekend in Philadelphia.
The best and worst of the NL East square off in Philadelphia this weekend. No, the Nationals aren't in town to take on the first-place Phillies. Instead, the Phils will be hosting the last-place Atlanta Braves.
Friday's series opener will find the home team 120-130 chalk over the Braves with the total a nice round 10.
It's hard to believe that 87-year-old Jamie Moyer (3-2, 5.70) can be 130 chalk against anyone. Well, maybe if Jose Lima made a comeback. But Moyer is, and against a decent veteran arm in Atlanta's Derek Lowe (4-2, 5.18). That should tell you how well the Phillies are playing, how poorly Lowe is pitching, or how poorly the Braves are playing.
Or in the case of Friday's game, all of the above.
Philadelphia just finished taking three of four from the Cardinals who, despite losing three of four still own the second-best record in the NL. The Phils were sparked in the three wins by their pitching. Starters Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick and Roy Halladay each pitched lights out in the three wins, and the bullpen was just as good. St. Louis managed just three in the final 30 innings of the series.
Atlanta hits the City of Brotherly love in a bad way. The Braves have dropped 11 of their last 15, with three of the four wins a home sweep over the woeful Astros last weekend. The were being no-hit until the eighth inn on Thursday in Washington where they dropped two of three. Atlanta is just 4-12 away from home this season and having trouble scoring runs.
They may have more trouble scoring in this series with slugging rookie Justin Heyward nursing a sore groin. He's expected to be missing from Friday's starting lineup, and possibly beyond.
We're also getting to that time of year that we have recent matchups to consider with this the second seried between the two NL East rivals in 2010. The Phils took two of three in Atlanta a little more than two weeks ago. One of the wins was a Moyer, Lowe collision, an 8-3 triumph for the Phils in the rubber game.
Atlanta had won all three of Lowe's starts versus the Phillies in 2009, with the right-hander pitching well in all three.
The first two games of the previous series were tight, low-scoring games. The Braves won the opener 4-3 in 10 innings, stealing that one in the end to spoil a fine outing by Kendrick for the Phillies. Halladay came back with a complete game 2-0 shutout in Game 2. Moyer's win in Game 3 was as a 140 underdog, and the only 'over' of the series after a run of three 'unders' between the two dating to the end of the '09 season.
Lowe and Moyer have three quality starts between them in 11 assignments. It just so happens that Moyer's lone quality start came against the Braves and Lowe who surrendered five runs (four earned) in his five innings.
Picking a side in this one comes down very simply to how much do you trust Moyer and the Phillies bullpen. Philadelphia relievers worked 8 1/3 innings in the Cardinals series, not bad by standards these days, especially when you consider one of the games went an extra six outs.
Atlanta relievers worked eight innings versus the Nats. Braves relievers aren't the issue, it's their offense. Atlanta is the third lowest-scoring team in the NL and about to face the team that is third in the Senior Circuit. In the meetings at Citizens Bank Park last season, six of the nine went 'under' with one 'push.' The split was 2-1 or 2-0-1 'under' in each series, with each 'over' a real scoreboard buster. The two 'overs' saw 23 and 17 runs scored.
The 'push' was really a no-action contest with Atlanta taking a 9-1 rain-shortened affair. The total in that one had been set at eight with Lowe facing Cliff Lee.
Weather could be of assistance for 'over' bettors. Forecasts call for a south wind in the evening at 8-12 mph (out to center). Overall, should be a nice day in the Philadelphia area with afternoon highs in the mid-70s mostly clear skies.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!