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Atlanta Braves At Cincinnati Reds MLB Betting Preview
Last season, the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were both bounced early in the NL playoffs. This year, both think that they are contenders for the NL pennant once again, but both have a ton of work to do. The two will begin their weekend series on Friday night at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
The first pitch is scheduled for 4:10 (PT), and there will be live TV coverage on Sports South, Fox Sports Ohio, and the MLB Network.
This is the start of a vital 10-game home stand for the Reds. They enter this series at just 48-50, but they are only 4 ½-games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the NL Central standings. A solid record at the start of this home stretch might make general manager Walt Jocketty a buyer at the deadline, whereas a questionable start might give him second thoughts.
There's no doubt that the Cincinnati offense is good enough to win it all this year. This is a unit that ranks No. 6 in baseball at 4.59 runs per game. Of late though, the unit has been down, scoring just a total of seven runs in its past five MLB betting battles.
What is clearly needed is better pitching. A 4.06 staff ERA is on No. 21 in the league, and one of the biggest culprits for this problem, Bronson Arroyo, is going to be on the mound on Friday.
Arroyo is 7-8 with a 5.57 ERA. Batters are teeing off on him to the tune of a .295 batting average, and his WHIP of 1.40 is his bordering on his worst mark since joining Cincinnati in 2006.
The Braves are in a heck of a lot better shape right now even though they are trailing the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East chase by 4 ½-games. There really aren't a heck of a lot of serious contenders for the NL Wild Card this season as long as this mess of teams in the NL Central keeps beating each other up, and as a result, Atlanta should be in the postseason one way or the other.
Whereas Cincinnati is going to be looking for arms at the deadline, the Braves need some bats to help out. Chipper Jones is still battling a knee injury and will be out of the lineup until at least Sunday, which isn't making matters any better for a team that is only batting .238.
However, that might not be a tremendous issue on Friday. Manager Fredi Gonzalez gets to deploy his Cy Young Award contender, Jair Jurrjens. For a man that didn't get his season started until April 16, Jurrjens has put up some simply awesome numbers. He is 12-3 with a 2.26 ERA.
Jurrjens is coming off of the worst start he has had all season long. He allowed six runs in five frames against the Washington Nationals at home, but the team bailed him out and managed a 9-8 victory. It was the fifth straight win for the Braves with Jurrjens on the bump.
Against the Reds this year, the righty already has a 'W' to his credit. He threw eight strong innings, allowing just one run for what was his seventh victory of the campaign.
The Reds are only 3-7 in Arroyo's last 10 starts at the Great American Ballpark. Meanwhile, the Braves are 18-8 in their last 26 games and have already taken two out of three against Cincinnati this year.
Early afternoon thunderstorms will hopefully give way to good conditions in the Queen City. Expect muggy conditions with temperatures in the high-80s and a heat index approaching triple digits while the sun is out.
Last season, the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were both bounced early in the NL playoffs. This year, both think that they are contenders for the NL pennant once again, but both have a ton of work to do. The two will begin their weekend series on Friday night at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
The first pitch is scheduled for 4:10 (PT), and there will be live TV coverage on Sports South, Fox Sports Ohio, and the MLB Network.
This is the start of a vital 10-game home stand for the Reds. They enter this series at just 48-50, but they are only 4 ½-games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the NL Central standings. A solid record at the start of this home stretch might make general manager Walt Jocketty a buyer at the deadline, whereas a questionable start might give him second thoughts.
There's no doubt that the Cincinnati offense is good enough to win it all this year. This is a unit that ranks No. 6 in baseball at 4.59 runs per game. Of late though, the unit has been down, scoring just a total of seven runs in its past five MLB betting battles.
What is clearly needed is better pitching. A 4.06 staff ERA is on No. 21 in the league, and one of the biggest culprits for this problem, Bronson Arroyo, is going to be on the mound on Friday.
Arroyo is 7-8 with a 5.57 ERA. Batters are teeing off on him to the tune of a .295 batting average, and his WHIP of 1.40 is his bordering on his worst mark since joining Cincinnati in 2006.
The Braves are in a heck of a lot better shape right now even though they are trailing the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East chase by 4 ½-games. There really aren't a heck of a lot of serious contenders for the NL Wild Card this season as long as this mess of teams in the NL Central keeps beating each other up, and as a result, Atlanta should be in the postseason one way or the other.
Whereas Cincinnati is going to be looking for arms at the deadline, the Braves need some bats to help out. Chipper Jones is still battling a knee injury and will be out of the lineup until at least Sunday, which isn't making matters any better for a team that is only batting .238.
However, that might not be a tremendous issue on Friday. Manager Fredi Gonzalez gets to deploy his Cy Young Award contender, Jair Jurrjens. For a man that didn't get his season started until April 16, Jurrjens has put up some simply awesome numbers. He is 12-3 with a 2.26 ERA.
Jurrjens is coming off of the worst start he has had all season long. He allowed six runs in five frames against the Washington Nationals at home, but the team bailed him out and managed a 9-8 victory. It was the fifth straight win for the Braves with Jurrjens on the bump.
Against the Reds this year, the righty already has a 'W' to his credit. He threw eight strong innings, allowing just one run for what was his seventh victory of the campaign.
The Reds are only 3-7 in Arroyo's last 10 starts at the Great American Ballpark. Meanwhile, the Braves are 18-8 in their last 26 games and have already taken two out of three against Cincinnati this year.
Early afternoon thunderstorms will hopefully give way to good conditions in the Queen City. Expect muggy conditions with temperatures in the high-80s and a heat index approaching triple digits while the sun is out.
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