The Atlanta Braves are on the road at the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. This is the first of a three game series in Chicago. Last week, these two teams played, and the Braves beat the Cubs in two out of three.
The Atlanta Braves are 27-17 on the season. Atlanta comes into the series second in the National League East. The Braves were smacked on Sunday Night Baseball, and blew a lead in the first game of the doubleheader on Monday. Atlanta came back with a 3-0 win Monday night.
Chicago comes into the game with a 26-22 record. The Cubs are coming off a series, where they lost three out of four at home to Pittsburgh. The Cubs are in second place in the National League Central.
The Atlanta Braves are -130 over the Cubs.
Braves Looking to Run Down Philadelphia
Matt Olson and Michael Harris put the Braves on top in the first game on Monday over the Padres. Later, Marcell Ozuna and Olson hit homeruns, and the Braves led 3-0 after three innings. Reynaldo Lopez had a strong start, but the Braves bullpen could not keep the lead. In Game two, Ozuna hit his 14th home run of the season. Chris Sale went 6 strong in the win.
The homeruns for the Braves put them at 46 on the season. The Braves led the league in homeruns a season ago, but for now, they are right in the middle of the pack in Major League Baseball. Atlanta is scoring more than 4.6 runs per game, and the team batting is at .251 on the season.
Charlie Morton is on the mound for the Atlanta Braves. Morton is 3-1 on the season with a 3.52 earned run average. The 40 year old is making his 9th start of the season. In 46 innings, Morton has struck out 44 batters, and walked just 17.
Cubs Looking to Play Better
For the Chicago Cubs, Javier Assad will get the nod. Assad is 4-0 on the season with a 1.49 earned run average. The 26 year old is making his 10th start of the season. He has thrown 48.1 innings, and struck out 42 batters, while walking 15. In his last start, he went six innings of scoreless baseball against the Braves.
The Cubs offense went silent over the weekend at home against the Pirates. In the four losses, the Cubs scored just 10 runs. The Cubs have now dropped to 14th in the league with 4.4 runs per game. Chicago is hitting .230 as a team. The Cubs also have hit 48 homeruns on the season.
Christopher Morel is putting together a nice season for the Cubs. The slugger leads the team with 9 home runs on the season. Nico Hoerner is having a nice season with 11 doubles, but has been out lately with a hamstring injury. The Cubs are also without their shortstop Dansby Swanson.
Cubs Top Braves
We like Chicago to get back on track here at home. Morton has struggled a bit as of late, and we like Assad in this game. We are going to take the Chicago Cubs +115 over the Atlanta Braves. Take Chicago over Atlanta.
