Braves vs Phillies Baseball Picks
The Braves and Phillies had their game on Tuesday night postponed. The Braves took the opener by scoring 4 in the 9th but not off Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Atlanta Braves (9-4) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (6-7)
Wednesday April 16
Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA
7:05PM
Probable Pitchers
ATL: Julio Teheran (R)
PHI: Cliff Lee (L)
Moneyline: Atlanta -120, Philadelphia +110
Total: 8
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Atlanta
Because these two teams meet often there is no doubleheader scheduled for tomorrow, they will make this one up when snow won’t be a factor. The Braves have won 4 in row to take an early lead in the NL East. They have been doing it primarily against division rivals too and without the benefit of a strong offense. It has been impressive.
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Julio Teheran had a very good first full season in the Majors last year and has followed it up with a good start to 2014.
Atlanta is 2-1 in games he has started with the lone loss being a game they were shut out in.
He has yet to give up more than 2ER in any start this season. His last game against Philly, last September, wasn’t great but the bat came a alive for him scoring 12 runs. The way the offense has been this year I am not sure he can rely on that.
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Philadelphia
Thanks to a strong offense the Phillies have been alright this season.
They had their three game losing streak snapped by Atlanta in the series opener but as long as this team keeps hitting they are going to have to be considered in the NL West. Chase Utley is looking better than he has in a long time in April and it is encouraging that Ryan Howard has already gone yard 3 times this season.
If OF Domonic Brown has sacrificed a little bit of power for better contact that is a good tradeoff because he had plenty to spare.
Lefty Cliff Lee got off to a rough start in their opener but has been very good ever since.
Lee is a control freak who has given up just one walk on the season and seems to be showing no signs of aging. Over the last three seasons he has been very good against Atlanta with an ERA of 2.37 but his record is just 6-5.
His peripherals including striking out more than a batter per inning should make for a better winning percentage. He has dominated the lefties in the Braves lineup – Freeman and Jason Heyward.
The bullpen let down the Phillies on Monday but I have a feeling Lee might render that moot this evening. He has a good track record against the Braves and at the very least he will have closer Jonathan Papelbon available in relief, something the team did not have when it blew the lead on Monday.
Total prediction: Under
Score prediction: Philadelphia 4 – Atlanta 3
