Friday night baseball and we will see the Atlanta Braves take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizen's Bank Stadium in Philadelphia. First pitch is scheduled for a 7:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised locally.
Current Odds
Atlanta -173
Philadelphia +158
Over/ Under: 8.5 O -125
Analysis: The Braves own an 11 1/2-game lead in the National League East after sweeping a seven-game homestand against St. Louis and Colorado. Third baseman Chris Johnson leads the NL in hitting at .346, and is batting .475 during his 10-game hitting streak with seven consecutive multi-hit contests. Atlanta, which scored 40 runs in a four-game sweep of Colorado, is averaging 5.6 runs per game while going 10-4 since the All-Star break. CF Jason Heyward is hitting .333 in six games since moving to the leadoff spot. Kris Medlen snapped a three-start losing streak with Sunday’s victory against St. Louis, allowing two earned runs on eight hits in six innings. The right-hander posted an 8.59 ERA in his three previous outings, allowing 14 earned runs in 14 2/3 innings. That first start of that stretch was against Philadelphia on July 7, in which Medlen allowed six earned runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
The Phillies moved a game above .500 by winning their first contest after the All-Star break, but they're 1-10 since after Thursday's 2-1 loss to San Francisco. Jonathan Papelbon blew his sixth save in his last 13 chances, and Philadelphia wasted a bases-loaded, no-out chance in the bottom half of the ninth. The Philadelphia Phillies turn to another member of their future on Friday when right-hander Ethan Martin makes his major-league debut in the opener of a three-game home series against the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies promoted Martin from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start for veteran Cliff Lee, who will miss his second consecutive outing with neck stiffness. Martin makes his debut after surrendering only one earned run in 18 1/3 innings across his final three Triple-A starts, striking out 20 hitters in that span. The 24-year-old came to the Phillies from the Los Angeles Dodgers last year in the Shane Victorino deal. He struck out 107 in 115 2/3 innings at Lehigh Valley this season.
Pick: Going with the Over in this game. Kris Medlen has not been pitching well of late this year and he has a 4.28 ERA on the road, plus he has allowed 10 ER's in his last 2 trips to Philadelphia. Ethan Martin is making his first career start tonight and his task is slowing down the hottest offense in baseball. Not good for him. 5 of the 6 games between these teams this year have put up at least 9 runs and I see more of the same tonight.
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Baseball Betting Tips from Pregame Pro Bryan Leonard
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