Oakland Athletics at Atlanta Braves Betting Preview
Tuesday night will kick off an interleague battle between the Oakland A’s (20-36) and the Atlanta Braves (28-27). The Braves will host this one at Truist Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:20 pm ET.
After being swept by both the Red Sox and the Astros, the A’s come into this one, having lost six games in a row. They lost their finale against Boston on Sunday 5-2.
Frankie Montas took the loss Sunday after giving up four runs (one earned) in six innings of work. Offensively, the Athletics put together seven hits, but they managed to scratch across just two runs.
Atlanta had considerably more luck in their last series sweeping the Rockies in four games. On Sunday, they closed out the sweep with an 8-7 win.
Charlie Morton picked up the win despite giving up four runs on six hits and three walks in five innings of work. Ronald Acuna Jr. had a big day, going four for five with a home run, three runs scored, a run batted in, and a stolen base.
Both of these teams enjoyed off days on Monday.
The Braves are heavy favorites in this one. They are -225 to win while the A’s moneyline sits at +204. The runline features Oakland +1.5 (+100), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.
Oakland Trying To Turn Around Miserable Start
At 20-36, the A’s currently sit with the second-worst record in the American League, and they are already 15.5 games out of first place in the AL West. Having won just one game in their last 10, they are looking to stay respectable on the road (currently 13-13) as opposed to their dreadful home record (7-23).
Taking the ball in the opener for Oakland is lefty Cole Irvin. In eight games, Irvin has been solid, going 2-2 with a 2.96 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and has 28 strikeouts in 45.2 innings of work.
In his last three starts, he has given up just a combined six runs in 18 innings of work.
Offensively, Oakland currently ranks 29th in baseball in scoring averaging just 3.27 runs per game. They have been better on the road (4.04 runs) than at home (2.60).
Seth Brown has been their best hitter to date. Despite hitting just .204/.276/.389, he leads the team in home runs (five), runs batted in (23), and stolen bases (five).
Given that the highest batting average on the team is Chad Pinder at .246, it is no wonder that Oakland has the worst team batting average (.210) in all of baseball.
Braves Trying To Close Divisional Gap
Having won five in a row, the Braves have done well to move back over .500 overall at 28-27. Still, with the Mets surging, the defending World Series champions have a lot of work to do to cut into the Mets’ 8.5 game lead.
Trying to add another tally to the win column Tuesday will be righty Kyle Wright. The 26-year-old is 5-3 in 10 games with a 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and has 66 strikeouts in 59.2 innings of work.
Wright picked up the win in his last start after firing six shutout innings against the Diamondbacks. He did allow five walks but held Arizona to just three hits while striking out five.
Third baseman Austin Riley has been on fire this season. He is hitting .265/.336/.530 with a team-leading 14 home runs and 31 runs batted in.
Ronald Acuna Jr. has also started to heat up. Over the last two weeks, he has hit .333/.380/.476 with a home run, eight runs batted in, and has nine runs scored.
Against Cole Irvin, Braves’ hitters are collectively 10 for 17 with a home run and nine runs batted in.
Take The Braves To Win And Cover
Aside from the fact that they have played better on the road than at home, there isn’t a whole lot to like about the A’s in this one. Their offense is subpar, and they are going against a team who is red hot, winning five in a row.
They are 7-3 in their last ten road games, but when playing at Truist Park, they are just 1-5 in their last six games.
Expect the Braves to prevail in this one, and don’t shy away from betting them to cover the -1.5 runline (-120).
