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The Cubs make the trip to Atlanta to face the Braves! Both of these teams have been very good with the Braves being the better team overall, but the Cubs are just behind them in the NL rankings. These are two of the best teams not just in the NL, but in the entire MLB. Our MLB odds series has our Cubs-Braves prediction, odds, and pick for Tuesday.
The Cubs have started the season playing well and have a 24-17 record. Their bats have been inconsistent and are in the bottom half of the league, while their pitching has been very good and is just outside the top 10. On offense, Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Christopher Morel, Michael Tauchman, and Dansby Swanson make up an inconsistent offense. Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, and Jameson Taillon are standouts in the pitching staff. The Cubs have been inconsistent recently, but their pitching is a massive key to their continuing to succeed.
The Braves have come out very strong to open the season. They are 24-13 but just lost one game that broke a four-game winning streak. They have one of the best offenses in the MLB up to this point in the season, ranking top-10 in the country. Their pitching has also been very good this season, ranking in the top 10. Max Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, Chris Sale, and Charlie Morton have all had varying levels of success up to this point. On offense, Marcell Ozuna has dominated at the plate for Atlanta, with Orlando Arcia, Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II all not far behind. The Braves are playing great baseball, but are going to be in a battle with the the Phillies and Dodgers as the best team in the NL all year.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cubs-Braves Odds
Chicago Cubs: +1.5 (-128)
Moneyline: +166
Atlanta Braves: -1.5 (+106)
Moneyline: -198
Over: 8.5 (-122)
Under: 8.5 (+100)
How to Watch Cubs vs. Braves
Time: 7:20 pm ET
TV: Bally Sports South
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Cubs are starting Jameson Taillon on the mound where he has a 3-0 record, a 1.13 ERA, and a 0.88 WHIP. He has allowed four runs on 16 hits with five walks and 16 strikeouts through 24 innings. In his four appearances this season, the Cubs are 4-0. In his last start, he pitched six innings and allowed zero runs on two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in a win. Taillon has been very good for the Cubs on the mound this season.
The Cubs' offense has been inconsistent this season. They are 18th in team batting average at .238 after finishing last season with a .254 batting average. The offense is led by Nico Hoerner, Christopher Morel, and Mike Tauchman lead the way in most of the batting categories. Hoerner leads the way in batting average at .275 and in total hits at 42. Morel leads the way in home runs at nine and then in RBI at 27. Tauchman then leads the way in OBP at .406. They also get a difficult matchup against Chris Sale for the Braves on the mound.
Why The Braves Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Braves are going with Chris Sale to start on the mound. He has a 5-1 record, a 2.95 ERA, and a 0.98 WHIP. He has allowed 14 runs on 34 hits with eight walks and 52 strikeouts through 42.2 innings. He has appeared in seven total games so far this season and they are 5-2 in those games. In his last start, he pitched six innings where he allowed zero runs on six hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts. Sale has been great for the Braves on the mound this season and leads the way in their pitching staff in wins on the season.
The Braves offense has been very good and is seventh in the MLB so far up to this point in the season at .253. They have dipped a bit after leading the way in batting average at .276. Marcell Ozuna has been incredible for the Braves to open the season. Ozuna leads the way in batting average at .326, in home runs at 12, in RBI at 40, in OBP at .404, and in total hits at 45. The Braves offense can compete with anyone in the league and this is an interesting matchup against Jameson Taillon for the Cubs.
Final Cubs-Braves Prediction & Pick
The Cubs and Braves are both using very good pitchers in this game with Jameson Taillon vs. Chris Sale. The Braves have dipped a bit on offense and that plays into the Cubs' favor, especially with Taillon on the mound. It will be difficult on the road, but the Cubs should cover thanks to Taillon and keep this game close against the Braves.
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Final Cubs-Braves Prediction & Pick: Cubs +1.5 (-128)
