Braves Look to Stay Hot Against Slumping Padres

The Atlanta Braves are 5-1 over their last six games after defeating the San Diego Padres 4-0 on Friday night. The Braves continue their three-game road series against the Padres this Saturday night in San Diego.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Braves opened as -124 favorites in this matchup while the Padres are going off at +114 at home. The total on Saturday night is set at 8.5 runs. The OVER is 4-1 in San Diego’s last five games at home.

Starting Pitchers Analysis

Huascar Ynoa pitched four innings and allowed three earned runs in last Monday’s 11-4  win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. After posting a 2.60 ERA across three starts in his return from the injured list in August, Ynoa has recorded a 5.12 ERA over his last four starts in September. The 23-year-old owns a 3.43 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 81.1 innings pitched this season.

Vince Velasquez allowed four earned runs in four innings pitched against the St. Louis Cardinals in his Padres debut last Friday. Velasquez has a 6.23 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP this season and a ghastly 11.63 ERA and 1.98 WHIP over his last six starts. His presence on the mound is a reminder of how desperate the Padres are for healthy arms.

Atlanta News & Notes

Max Fried pitched a complete-game shutout and Ozzie Albies scored two of his team’s four runs in Atlanta’s 4-0 win over the Padres on Friday night. Albies has collected hits in each of his last six games and has two home runs, seven runs and eight RBI over that stretch. Atlanta is 5-1 in those six games and has averaged 6.17 runs per game.

Philadelphia is hot on Atlanta’s tail with an 8-2 record over its last eight games. The Braves enter Saturday’s action with an 81-72 record and a 1.5-game lead over the Phillies in the National League West. These two division rivals are set to clash in three key games next week in Atlanta. Atlanta would love to enter that series with its current division lead still intact. 

San Diego News & Notes

This Padres team was considered to be among the top contenders to win the World Series heading into this season and was in contention with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West early on with a 34-19 record out of the gate. San Diego still looked like a playoff team as recently as early August with a 67-49 record leading the pack for the second NL wild card spot.

Since then, the Padres have gone 11-27 over their last 38 games and 1-6 over their last seven. With the St. Louis Cardinals reeling off a 14-game win streak, the 78-76 Padres suddenly find themselves seven games out of a playoff spot. Fernando Tatis Jr. has had an outstanding season with 41 home runs, 98 runs, 95 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 122 games in 2021, but that production has wound up going to waste.

Staff Betting Pick: OVER 8.5 runs

Vince Velasquez shouldn’t be anywhere near a big league mound in his current form. The Braves are going to put up plenty of runs in this one and the Padres should be able to take care of the rest.