Written By: The Persian
The suddenly slumping Atlanta Braves look to return to their winning ways when they host the Colorado Rockies in the first of a three-game series starting Tuesday night inside Truist Park from Atlanta, Georgia. They toss out the first pitch at 7:20 pm as the Braves come into the series as a heavy favorite.
Bookmaker has installed the Braves -375 on the ML in the opener.
The Braves have struggled of late. Over the long weekend, they dropped three of four to the Philadelphia Phillies and now sit seven games back in first place in the NL East. They will not catch the Phillies, who would have to collapse for that to happen. Atlanta gets the Rockies at the perfect time, and they should be able to get their offense back on track against a poor team.
Atlanta scored two runs in the final two games of the set against the Phillies and could not close the door late as they lost in extras on Sunday, 3-2, in eleven innings. They must stay more patient at the plate, and they need their starting pitching to pick things up.
On offense, they are led by DH Marcell Ozuna, who has cracked a team-high 37 home runs. He has a 12-game homerless streak going, and expect him to snap out of that funk against the Rockies.
The Braves will send out hurler and veteran Chris Sale, who has compiled a mark of 15-3 in his first season with Atlanta. He pitched well and won his last two out of three decisions.
The Rockies are one of the worst teams in baseball, and they are buried in last place in the NL West. They have a record of 51-87, and their offense has been one of the more pathetic in the league this season. They play in a hitter-friendly park, but they have a hard time consistently scoring runs. They have some decent hitters in their lineup, but they need help.
On offense, center fielder Brenton Doyle leads the way. He has hit a career-high 22 home runs after slugging just ten last season. The Rockies have hit 150 home runs while batting a decent .245 on the season.
They will hand the ball over to Kyle Freeland, who has collected a record of 4-6 with an ERA of 5.51 on the season. He is 1-2 in his last three starts.
The Braves are 2-3 in their last five games and 4-1 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 36-37 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games, and the totals have gone over in 20 out of their last 64 games at home. The Rockies are 2-3 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the number too. They are also 31-38 in their road games against the spread.
