The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their control over the National League with a dominant 8-4 win over the Atlanta Braves to open their three-game series on Tuesday night. With the regular season now in its second half, every game has a significant bearing on each team’s playoff hopes.
For more on the biggest ball games of the night, head over to our MLB Free Picks column for our picks of the five best baseball games to bet on for today, and read on for a closer look at this pivotal National League matchup.
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Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
When: Wednesday, July 30, 10:10 PM ET
Line: Atlanta Braves (+142) at Los Angeles Dodgers (-157); total 6.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Atlanta Braves
Despite scoring early to pull ahead of the NL-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves faltered down the stretch and failed to score a run from the fifth inning onward and took the loss on Tuesday.
[sc:MLB240banner ]However, the Braves were not without significant contributions from batters Freddie Freeman and Tony La Sella. Freeman went 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and a run, while La Sella added three hits.
Not only were the batters poor late in the game, the Braves’ relief pitchers also had a horrible stretch. After their starter surrendered four runs (all earned) in six innings, the relievers surrendered just as much but in under two innings.
The Braves will need some quality pitching from starter Alex Wood (7-8, 3.44 ERA) if they want to avoid another loss to the Dodgers. The starter surrendered five runs (four earned) from 12 hits in his last start against the San Diego Padres. If Wood can’t handle a Padres team that’s last in the majors in runs, he will find himself in trouble with a Dodgers offense that was excellent in the first game of the series.
The Braves are 1-3 in Wood’s four starts in July. The total has gone over in their last four games at Dodger Stadium.
The Los Angeles Dodgers trailed the Atlanta Braves 4-2 before their batters exploded to power the team to an 8-4 win, their fourth win in a row. Matt Kemp hit a pair of two-run home runs while Yasiel Puig went 4-for-5 with two runs scored. Puig, who now has two four-hit games in five games since his return from injury, will be swinging a hot bat against Wood.
Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez will also be important for the Dodgers at the plate. The two brought in a pair of crucial RBIs to tie with Atlanta and contributed in building up the lead.
The Dodgers have a stellar cast of hitters that can put on another high-scoring game against Atlanta, but they wouldn’t want to play catch up once more. Maybe they won’t need to with Zack Greinke (12-6, 2.74 ERA) headed to the mound.
Greinke had a great outing on the road against the San Francisco Giants in his last start. He left the Giants scoreless while giving up only four hits with 10 strikeouts in seven innings. At home, Greinke will be valuable on the mound as the Dodgers aim for two-straight against Atlanta. The Dodgers starter is 4-1 in his last five home starts.
If their starter has an off game, the team can be left assured that their relief pitchers can more than handle Atlanta’s batting. The Dodgers relievers have given up just two runs in their last 12.2 innings; both runs came off Paul Maholm.
Writer’s Prediction
The Los Angeles Dodgers will be too much for the Atlanta Braves. Take them at -157.
