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The best team in the majors, the Atlanta Braves, faces off against the Boston Red Sox. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with a Braves-Red Sox prediction, pick, and how-to watch.
The Braves enter the game after taking two of three from the Brewers over the weekend. Atlanta is in a slight rough patch as of late, winning just four of their last ten games. Still, the Braves are sitting at 64-34 on the season and are 11.5 games up in the NL East. That is the best record in the entire majors. This had led to the Braves starting to make some moves ahead of the trade deadline and looking to make some more.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox took two of three from the Mets over the weekend. The Red Sox have won six of their last ten games now, and are making a push at the playoffs. On the season the Red Sox are 53-47 and are tied for fourth in the AL East with the Yankees. They sit nine games back of the Orioles for first place in the division and are 2.5 games behind the Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot. The Red Sox are expected to make some big moves ahead of the trade deadline to keep them in the race for the playoffs.
Here are the Braves-Red Sox MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Braves-Red Sox Odds
Atlanta Braves: -1.5 (+112)
Boston Red Sox: +1.5 (-124)
Over: 10.5 (-115)
Under: 10.5 (-105)
How To Watch Braves vs. Red Sox
TV: BSSO/NESN
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:10 PM ET/ 4:10 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Braves Could Cover The Spread
The Braves are the best team in baseball, and one major reason is they have one of the best offenses in baseball. They are third in runs scored this year, while sitting second in team batting average, second in on-base percentage, and first in slugging. Not only are the Braves second in batting average, they have hit the most home runs in the majors, with 23 home runs. Matt Olson leads the way in home runs for the Braves. He has 32 on the season which is good for second in the majors. Meanwhile, he is tied for first in the majors with 80 RBIs. This month he has four more home runs. Olson is hitting .290 on the month, with 13 RBIS and 12 runs scored.
Ronald Acuna Jr. is continuing his great year as well. He is second in the majors with a .332 batting average, while sitting tied for 12th in home runs and tied for 31st in RBIs. This month he is hitting with a .319 average and a .390 on-base percentage. He has five RBIs and three home runs this month. Acuna has scored 13 times this month and has been able to move into scoring position with his speed. He has nine stolen bases this month.
Meanwhile, Austin Riley is also having a good month. He is hitting just .268 on the month but has 18 RBIS on the month. Of those 18 RBIs, 16 of them are in his last six games. In those games, he has ten hits in 25 at-bats. Riley has hit seven home runs this month, with six of them coming in the last six games. Riley had also scored 16 times this month, with nine of them in his last six games.
On the hill, today for the Braves will be Charlie Morton. Morton is 10-7 on the year with a 3.36 ERA. He did have a rough start last time out, going 5.2 innings giving up four runs in a losing effort to the Diamondbacks. Still, he is having a solid month. In 24.2 innings of work, he has given up just five earned runs. That is good for a 1.82 ERA this month with a 3-1 record.
Why The Red Sox Could Cover The Spread
While the Braves have an impressive offense, the Red Sox are nearly as impressive. They sit fifth in runs scored this year, third in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage, and sixth in slugging. They are led by Rafael Devers. Devers is tied for eighth in home runs in the majors while sitting sixth in RBIs this year. He is having an amazing month at the plate. He is hitting .386 this month with a .453 on-base percentage. Devers has hit five home runs this month with 13 RBIs. He has also hit five doubles and scored 11 runs. Meanwhile, he has also stolen two bases this month.
Along with Devers, Triston Casas is having a great month. He is hitting .348 on the month with five home runs. He has nine RBIs as well this month with the help of three doubles and a triple. Casas has been scoring a ton of runs as of late. He has 13 runs this month, with five in his last three games. Two of those came from a two-home run game against the Mets on Saturday.
Justin Turner is continuing to drive in runs. Turner has 21 RBIs this month, including six in his last four games. Turner is hitting .354 this mother with four home runs and six doubles. Beyond his 21 RBIs, he has also scored 15 times. Connor Wong is also scoring a fair amount as of late. He has scored a run in each of his last five games while hitting .356 on the month. He has also driven in five runs this month.
The Red Sox have yet to name a starting pitcher for this game. In this spot of the rotation last time, it was Joe Jacques who took the hill to start, but he pitched on Sunday and will most likely not start again. It may be Chris Murphy, who pitched 4.2 innings in relief in that game, not giving up a run. He pitched 3.2 innings on Sunday as well though. Still, the Red Sox bullpen will be the focus today. The bullpen sits 12th in the majors currently with a 3.78 ERA this year.
Final Braves-Red Sox Prediction & Pick
If this is going to be a game in which the Red Sox use their bullpen, it may not go well for them. The bullpen is middle of the pack in the majors in terms of home runs given up, while slightly above average in ERA. The Braves will pounce all over that and hit some more home runs to add to their record pace. Further, if the Red Sox do get to Charlie Morton with their offense, the Braves have one of the best bullpens in the majors. Take the Braves as the pick in this one over the Red Sox.
Final Braves-Red Sox Prediction & Pick: Braves -1.5 (+112)
