Freddie Freeman leads the Braves against the Giants

Braves Trying To Be Giant Slayers In Pivotal Series With SF

As leaders of the NL’s East Division, the Atlanta Braves saw an opportunity to further distance themselves from the pack when they hosted the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies at home for six games. After taking two of three from the Marlins, the Braves dropped both games against the Rockies, before being rained out yesterday. Atlanta finished a disappointing 2-3 against those two bottom feeding NL teams and now head to San Francisco for a three game series against the best team in baseball.

Atlanta Braves vs San Francisco Giants
  • Date/Time: September 17, 9:45pm EDT
  • Stadium: Oracle Park
  • TV Coverage: Bally Sports Southeast / KNTV
  • Sportsbook Odds: Giants -170 | O/U 7.5 (Line History)
  • Braves vs Giants Matchup Report

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

This game opened with the Giants as significant -170 home favorites on the moneyline.  Since then a little bit of early money has been sprinkled on the Braves, dropping the line to -160 currently. The Giants are 22 games above .500 when playing at home this year.

The total for today’s contest opened at 7.5, but has since been bet up to 8. The total has gone UNDER in nine of Atlanta's last 10 games on the road.

Starting Pitchers Analysis   

On July 13, Ian Anderson was placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation and was expected to miss about 10 days. Instead, the 23 year-old right-hander missed almost six weeks battling his injury. In his three starts since returning to Atlanta’s rotation, Anderson has given up six earned runs and a combined 22 hits + walks in just under 14 innings of work. 

In 23 appearances (22 starts) for the Giants this year, Logan Webb has surprisingly been one of the game's elite pitchers.  The 24 year-old right-hander is 10-3, with a sparkling 2.80 ERA and 1.11 WHIP.  Webb has gone 16 consecutive starts without losing a decision and has 10 consecutive starts where he has completed at least six innings. 

Braves News & Notes

With 216 home runs this year, the Braves trail only the Giants (223) for the most home runs in the National League. Atlanta have hit exactly half of their home runs (108) on the road.  Since the All-Star break, the Braves have actually out-homered the Giants, 93-91.

Post All-Star break, the Atlanta pitching has really rounded into form. As a team, they are pitching to a 3.58 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP.  Opponents are hitting just .227 against Atlanta since the Mid-Summer Classic.

Once again Freddie Freeman is doing Freddie Freeman like things at the plate for Atlanta. The slugging first-baseman has 30 home runs this season (8th in the NL) and is flirting with a .300 average, currently sitting at .297.

The Austin Riley breakout season has arrived. Once a much talked about prospect, Riley has proven that he will be a major league bat for many years to come. The 24 year-old slugger has 29 home runs and is hitting .298 this year.

Giants News & Notes

When a team is 43 games above .500 like the Giants are, you would expect them to have decent hitting.  This season, San Francisco ranks first in the NL in home runs (223) and in OPS. (.771) They are second to only the Dodgers (743) in total runs scored, with 728.

The Giants have homered in 11 consecutive games, and had gone 10 straight games where they scored at least six runs or more. That streak was stopped in their 7-4 loss to the Padres last night.

The Giants offence might get a boost to their lineup tonight. On Tuesday, outfielder Mike Yastrzemski was hit by a pitch on the elbow and was forced to leave the game. The 31-year-old was relegated to pinch-hitting duties the last two nights, but could be back in the Giants lineup for the start of this series.

Staff Betting Pick: Under 8

It's mid-September and both these teams have lots of incentives to win this game.  Atlanta are holding off the charging Phillies for the NL East title. The Giants have battled the Dodgers for the best record in baseball all season and look to maintain their slim lead over LA and avoid a wild-card game. I expect a low scoring, playoff atmosphere for this series.  Take the UNDER in this one.

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Shark Bites
  • Atlanta are 10-3 in their last 13 games against San Francisco.
  • San Francisco are 9-2 in their last 11 games.
  • Nine of Atlanta’s last 10 games on the road have gone UNDER the total.
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