Atlanta Braves vs. Colorado Rockies Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/4/2022

Time: 9:10 p.m. ET

Venue: Coors Field, Denver, CO

Where to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain

DraftKings: Braves -160, Rockies +140

BetMGM: Braves -160, Rockies +135

Caesars: Braves -169, Rockies +150

Braves: 26-27

Rockies: 23-29

The defending World Series champions may have something going here during their three-game winning streak. The Atlanta Braves, behind a two-run single from Matt Olson in the 10th inning, defeated the Colorado Rockies on Friday to take the first two from the four-game weekend series.

The third is Saturday in Colorado and hopefully the crowd is treated to more runs than we got on Friday. Because for nine innings, no one scord. Max Fried went eight innings, allowed only two hits and struck out four. But the run support didn't come until the 10th behind Olson's two-run base hit after Adam Duvall scored on a wild pitch.

Because of course that's how the game's first run would score.

"Everything was just nails. I mean slider, change, curve, his fastball. I saw him getting after it a couple innings like he was emptying the tank," Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Fried. "You expect to win the game when he pitches."

And that technically happened, but we were all played. The Braves' bats were essentially held in check by Chad Kuhl with him going six innings and striking out three while only allowing five hits. The difference here is Kuhl had 98 pitches through six.

Fried? 102 through eight scoreless.

"Being able to pitch here is a challenge," Fried said. "I just wanted to be myself, pitch my game, move the ball around and change speeds."

"Fastball command was key. I felt like I was attacking and getting strike one a lot," Kuhl said. "When you throw a lot of pitches through one or two innings, you're thinking get through five. But I was able to get through six."

The lack of run support has been the story of the Braves' season. It's like they could use a guy like Freddie Freeman, or something. The Braves still only find themselves a game below .500, which is impressive given everything, but the pitching has helped them get here. Between Fried and the emergence of Kyle Wright, things are coming up stream for the Braves.

Even though they're still well behind the New York Mets for first place in the National League East right now, they're still in second place in the division, which means a wild-card spot could be in the cards if they get healthy and play some good ball. Hinders on a lot of things, really. 

The Braves have been the true definition of a .500 team this season. Their home record is 14-14, and even their record is sitting at 12-13. I have no idea how you draw that up. For the purposes of just having a weird record, give Atlanta the win. Braves win 6-4

Braves are 39-14 the past three seasons as a road favorite of -125 or more.

Braves are 77-66 on the road the past three seasons.

Rockies 36-40 as an underdog the past three seasons.

Braves:
Ronald Acuna Jr. (R) RF
Dansby Swanson (R) SS
Marcell Ozuna (R) DH
Austin Riley (R) 3B
Matt Olson (L) 1B
Travis d'Arnaud (R) C
Orlando Arcia (R) 2B
Adam Duvall (R) LF
Michael Harris II (L) CF
SP - Spencer Strider

Rockies:
Connor Joe (R) LF
Charlie Blackmon (L) DH
C.J. Cron (R) 1B
Brendan Rodgers (R) 2B
Yonathan Daza (R) CF
Jose Iglesias (R) SS
Ryan McMahon (L) 3B
Randal Grichuk (R) RF
Elias Diaz (R) C
SP - Kyle Freeland

Batting average: Dansby Swanson -- .280

Home runs: Austin Riley -- 13

RBI: Austin Riley -- 29

Wins: Max Fried -- 5

ERA: Kyle Wright -- 2.41

Batting average: Jose Iglesias -- .316

Home runs: C.J. Cron -- 14

RBI: C.J. Cron -- .40

Wins: Chad Kuhl -- 4

ERA: Chad Kuhl -- 3.17