Can The Braves Out-Hit The Phillies At Home?

The Philadelphia Phillies will meet up with the Atlanta Braves for the first time since opening weekend. The two rivals haven’t played head-to-head since late March, so we’ll see plenty of Braves-Phillies games in the second half of the season.

While the All-Star Break isn’t here yet, we’ve already passed the season’s halfway mark. The Phillies are one of the best teams in baseball, currently standing out 57-30. Meanwhile, the Braves are in the middle of playoff contention but not playing as well, sitting at 47-38.

But if there was ever a time for the Braves to make up some ground in the NL East, it’s this weekend.

The Phillies are still without Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Therefore, the offense has been a bit weaker lately.

• That’s why the Braves are -136 on the moneyline. It’s also why the total is 7.5, with the over juiced to -115. Oddsmakers are expecting a low-scoring game and believe the Braves have a higher implied probability of winning Game 1.

Review the Phillies vs Braves series odds for this NL East rivalry series below.

What’s Next For Taijuan Walker?

The Phillies’ starting rotation has been excellent this season. However, Taijuan Walker has been the lone pitcher who has struggled to find success in 2024. While he’s on the injured list right now, he’s carrying a 5.60 ERA with a WHIP of 1.491 in ten games. Walker hasn’t even had a quality start since May 11.

Maybe the bullpen would best suit him when he returns, despite his $70+ million contract.

Manager Brent Snitker Is Fine!

Atlanta’s manager, Brent Snitker, was hit in the groin on a foul ball by Ozzie Albies on Wednesday. When the media asked about it after the game, Snitker laughed it off and said he was fine.

The Braves certainly don’t need another key piece on the injured list. They’ve got enough assets on that list. Funny enough, it would likely be Walt Weiss who would be the next manager on the Atlanta MLB pipeline if Snitker had to miss time from that,

Phillies vs Braves Series Odds For Game 1:

RL: Braves -1.5 (+157) ML: Braves -136, O/U: 7.5 -115/-105

---

Phillies vs Braves Series Odds: Games previews

The Phillies will roll with Aaron Nola in the series’ first game tonight. Nola is a righty who has held his last 120 batters to a wOBA of .297. You can thank his walk rate of 2.5% and his ground ball rate of 48.3% for his low wOBA.

The Braves haven’t had much success against righties over the last 30 days. The projected lineup has a .140 ISO and wOBA of .290, with more than 24% of strikeouts this season. Jarred Kelenic, Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley, and Sean Murphy have put up solid numbers, but most of the lineup has struggled.

Meanwhile, Atlanta will counter with Max Fried. He’s a lefty who has held his last 95 batters to a .047 ISO and wOBA of .281. Fried has earned nearly 53% of ground balls and has only walked 8.4% over the last 30 days. He just hasn’t added a high rate of strikeouts, earning below 18% in the last month.

However, the Phillies have only hit a .164 ISO and wOBA of .285 against lefties over the last 30 days. The MLB scoreboard won’t light up much tonight. Take the Under 7.5 (-105) in this one.

Ranger Suarez will get another start for the Phillies on Saturday. He’s become one of the best pitchers in the MLB, holding a 2.27 ERA on the season. Suarez is a prime candidate to win the NL Cy Young this year, but he’s allowed a .156 ISO and wOBA of .354 to his last 129 batters. He’s showing signs of regression despite a high ground ball rate and low walk rate.

While the Braves have struggled against righties, they’ve had more success against lefties. Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, and Sean Murphy have helped lead the way for the Braves with high ISO and wOBA numbers. There’s more consistency all around for Atlanta against lefties.

Atlanta will ride with Spencer Schwellenbach for this one. He’s a righty who has allowed lefties to hit a .316 ISO and wOBA of .405 over the last 30 days. He’ll still get a lot of grounders and doesn’t walk at a high rate, but lefties have still found ways to attack.

Without Harper and Schwarber, the Phillies lack power against right-handed pitchers. They don’t have massive left-handed bats that can exploit Schwellenbach’s struggles against lefties. Surprisingly, we’ll back the Braves in Game 2 as one of our MLB experts picks.

Finally, Michael Mercado will get the start on Sunday. This was Taijuan Walker’s slot until he was injured. Then Spencer Turnbull took over, and he got hurt. Therefore, Michael Mercado is now getting starts in their place.

Mercado threw to 22 batters in his first start with the Phillies and held opponents to a .050 ISO and wOBA of .161. If he continues to pitch like this, he’ll fit right in with the Phillies rotation.

He’ll take on Reynaldo Lopez, who has held his last 111 batters to a .143 ISO and wOBA of .303. However, Lopez has allowed 32.4% of fly balls and has induced only 25% of ground balls over the last 30 days. Regression could be coming for Lopez. That’s why we’ll take the Phillies in this one, after looking through the Phillies vs Braves series odds.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

---

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

• NL West Rivals Do Battle In Series In San Diego
• Orioles vs Mariners MLB Series: Battle of Division Leaders
• Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals Series Preview and Odds
• Rangers Look For Home Cooking In Series vs Padres
• Can the Underdogs Win Another Series in Minnesota?=