Braves vs Dodgers MLB Betting + Handicapping Picks
The Dodgers have gotten off on a torrid pace in the early part of this season. Led by Matt Kemp, they sit atop the NL with a 13-4 mark. The Braves on the other hand, have been a team of runs so far.
They started off on an 0-4 skid, then won 10 of 11, and have now dropped two in a row to sit with a 10-7 record.
ATL: Brandon Beachy (2-1, .047 ) v LAD: Ted Lilly (2-0, .069)
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 25, 10:10 PM ET
Venue: Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Spread: Dodgers -115
Over/Under: 7
The Braves aim to snap their stroke of bad luck by handing the ball to right-hander Brandon Beachy who has gotten off to an incredible pace in the 2012 season. He actually sports the best ERA in all of baseball at the moment. His strikeout rate has actually fallen off a bit from last season, but since just three starts have been made you can’t really look that much into his stats so far.
He tossed a solid game on Friday night against the Diamondbacks, giving up just four hits, a walk and struck out five over his 7 1/3 innings of work. Beachy threw 111 pitches during his time on the mound and earned his second win of the season. The Braves would win the game, 9-1.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers will counter with Mr. Consistency — Ted Lilly.
The veteran southpaw’s ERA has been over 5.00 just one time since 2001, but it has been under 3.50 just once as well. You know exactly what you’re getting when you send Lilly to the hill. His numbers are off to a good start this season, but you can chalk those up to a bit of luck at this point. His BABIP is sitting at .176 currently, and when you compare that to a .270 career line you know that his numbers will regress to the mean. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Players to watch for:
Braves – Dan Uggla .258/3/9/.329
He’s gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season, but Lilly is a guy that he has pretty much owned for the majority of the meetings between the two. He’s 4 of 11 lifetime against Lilly. Included in that is two homeruns and five RBI.
Dodgers – Matt Kemp .460/9/22/.514
No one on the Dodgers has more than six at bats against Beachy lifetime. They do have Kemp in there though, and anytime he is on the field he is definitely worth watching.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Los Angeles– Definitely a pitching duel here. But the Dodgers have the bigger bats and that will be all the difference in this one.
