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After game one of this series saw both sides pitch extraordinarily on Friday, each squad will be eager to get the bats cracking as the Los Angeles Dodgers square off with the Atlanta Braves for another highly anticipated matchup. Check out our MLB odds series, where our Dodgers-Braves prediction and pick will be made.
With an impressive 24-13 mark away from Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles will seek to gain some ground on San Diego in the NL West with righty Mitch White in line for the start. White is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in his four total starts on the season.
While the Braves have endured a boatload of victories in the month of June, the bats were seemingly not clicking at Truist Park yesterday. Regardless, Atlanta still sits ten games above .500 at 41-31 and remain in striking distance to dethrone the Mets from the top spot in the NL East. Braves ace Max Fried will look to even this series with his 7-2 record and 2.77 ERA.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Dodgers-Braves MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Dodgers-Braves Odds
Los Angeles Dodgers: +1.5 (-172)
Atlanta Braves: -1.5 (+142)
Over: 8.5 (-120)
Under: 8.5 (-102)
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Why The Dodgers Could Cover the Spread
Los Angeles has experienced their fair share of spread-covering wins in the past, but none may have been as impressive as their three-run victory on the road versus the defending champions. In fact, with the win on Friday, the Dodgers are now 42-32 ATS on the season, which is a spectacular record through 74 games.
While the offense could've scored more runs by stranding nine men on base, this is also a group that can get on base at a feverish rate and puts an extreme amount of pressure on the base paths. Consider the Braves lucky that the score was as close as it was since the Dodgers' one area of concern was their inability to bring men on base around to score. Fueled by 230 extra-base hits, the Dodgers rank third in the MLB with a .430 slugging percentage.
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Like recent Dodgers teams of the past, Los Angeles' pitching has remained one of the top units in baseball with a league-best 2.90 ERA and a batting average of .215, which ranks as the second-lowest average given up by pitchers. The scariest part of this team is their ability to beat you in a handful of different ways as they did yesterday, the arms on the roster are as elite as they come.
An inexperienced twirler may be taking the mound in White on Saturday, but the 27-year-old is recently coming off of a five-inning shutout against the White Sox and arguably has what it takes to help the Dodgers silence Atlanta's bats for the second consecutive game.
Why The Braves Could Cover the Spread
Have the 2021 World Series champs returned to form? While they are missing a couple of pieces from their championship run from a season ago, it took a couple of months for the Braves to figure out who they are before they could start consistently winning ballgames. With the final week of June starting right at us, Atlanta should feel good where they are at.
It was definitely surprising that an opposing southpaw was finally able to shut down this Braves' offensive attack, but that's exactly what happened on Friday when Julio Urias fired six innings of near un-hittable baseball and struck nine Atlanta hitters out in the process. Consider this an off-game for a group that has appeared dominant at times, as the Braves have generated the fifth-most runs in baseball with 341 total and the top slugging team with a .44o percentage.
How good has shortstop Dansby Swanson been? Well, slashing an extremely productive .305 while driving in 41 runs is a good place to start, as the flashy middle infielder has transformed himself into one of Atlanta's best hitters over the past few seasons.
Atlanta's pitching hasn't been as assertive as the Dodgers, but this is still a respected bunch that has sported a 3.76 ERA through 72 games. The major advantage in this one that the Braves have is with southpaw Max Fried. Fried has been the ace of this starting staff for the better portion of the past couple of seasons and he is the ideal man for the job to slow down this LA offensive onslaught.
Final Dodgers-Braves Prediction & Pick
Facing Fried at any point throughout the season is a tough task, and while the Dodgers certainly have the bats to spell out trouble for the lefty, he'll be extra motivated to quiet Los Angeles bats. With a 23-16 record at home, expect the Braves to play a much better game on Saturday by taking advantage of a lesser pitcher in White on the mound.
Final Dodgers-Braves Prediction & Pick: Braves -1.5 (+142)
