Game Time: 12:20 pm ET, Thursday, June 22nd, 2022

Venue: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia

Where to Watch: MLBN

DraftKings: Moneyline:  Giants +110, Braves -130; O/U 9

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  

PointsBet:  Moneyline: 

Giants:  38-29, 3rd place NL West

Braves: 39-30, 2nd place NL East

A National League matchup between recent powerhouses that are struggling to stay that way.  The San Francisco Giants won over 100 games last season for the best record in the MLB… this season they have plummeted off that mark to third place in the NL West behind the Dodgers AND the Padres.  There is plenty of summer left to make up ground.  The Atlanta Braves were last season’s surprise World Series Champs… Then the Dodgers reached in and poached the Braves’ best hitter Freddie Freeman… and now the Braves are still good, but 5.5 games behind their division rival New York Mets.  These teams have nearly identical records… so we will have to dig deep on the numbers to find the Great Betting Opportunity.  

The San Francisco Giants have won 7 of their last 10 games… helping them make up ground with the Padres and Dodgers in the NL West.  They logged 3 Overs and 7 Unders during that stretch. Pitchers Carlos Rodon and Alex Wood have won their last two games each.  They have gone 1-1 against the Atlanta Braves so far, 2-1 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 against the Kansas City Royals, and 2-0 against the Los Angeles Dodgers during that stretch.  Former Dodger Joc Pederson has lost the pearls but gained a more reliable long ball… he has 15 home runs on the season to lead the Giants along with a team leading OPS of .912.  That was a smart pick-up by the Giants… They may need another smart pickup soon to push through the summer. 

The Atlanta Braves have also won 7 of their last 10 games. Logging 6 Overs and 4 Unders.  They went 1-1 against the Giants so far, 1-2 against the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 against the Washington Nationals, and 2-0 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Now the Pirates and the Nationals are easy wins… but the Braves have still been solid and respectable.  Pitchers Ian Anderson and Spencer Strider are on 2 game winning streaks.  Austin Riley leads the team in homers with 18, Michael Harris II leads the team in batting average with .345. The Braves have a hot parade of quality players with Dansby Swanson, Ronald Acuna JR, Matt Olson… but you can feel the loss of Freddie Freeman if you compare the line-up to last season.

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The Giants are 38-29 on the season, 33-31-3 O/U, 19-15 on the road.

The Braves are 39-30 on the season, 37-29-3 O/U, 21-15 at home.

The Giants are 4th in scoring with 4.91 runs per game, 17th in batting average with .240, and 5th in OBP with .324.  The bats are scattered throughout the line-up.

The Braves are 7th in scoring with 4.77 runs per game, 12th in batting average with .248, and 16th in OBP with .314. The Braves are a quality line-up… they need a little more.

The Giants are 15th in Team ERA with 3.94, 16th in WHIP with 1.26, and the fielders are 15th in errors with 37 on the season so far.  The pitching is what needs the big boost.  The Giants are leaving wins on the table since they are 4th in scoring… but 3rd in their division.  They should leave no rock unturned while looking for a guy who can fill a starter spot.

The Braves are 9th in team ERA with 3.73, 15th in WHIP with 1.24, while the fielders rank 9th in errors with 32 on the season so far.  The Braves are well balanced and that will carry them through the summer pretty well.  Last year they hung in there until the winning caught up… maybe this is more of the same?

Our prediction for Thursday, June 23rd is…  Braves 6 - Giants 2

The Braves have some advantages that can not be ignored.  If they defend well they will win.

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The Giants are 176-118 (+52.7 Units) in all games the last 3 seasons.

The Giants are 85-62 (+33.1 Units) in road games the last 3 seasons.

The Braves are 181-137 (+11.8 Units) in all games the last 3 seasons.

Braves pitcher Kyle Wright is 6-0 when the total is set at 8.5 to 10 this season.

Giants: SS Brandon Crawfor (knee) Out ** CF S. Duggar (oblique) Out ** LF L. Wade Jr (knee) Out 

Braves: 2B O. Albies (foot) Out ** C M. Pina (wrist) Out ** 

Giants: LHP Alex Wood, 5-5, 4.32 ERA, 64 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched.  1.31 WHIP.  Alex Wood has had better years… but he is still 31 years old and has some stuff in the bag.

Braves: RHP Kyle Wright, 7-4, 2.94 ERA, 88 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched.  1.10 WHIP. This 26 year old debuted in 2018 and has only recently gotten hot as a starter.  

Giants: RF Luis Gonzalez, CF Mike Yastremski, 3B Evan Longoria, LF Joc Pederson, 1B Brandon Belt, 2B Thairo Estrada, DH Tommy La Stella, SS Brandon Crawford, C Austin Wynns

Braves: RF Ronald Acuna, SS Dansby Swanson, 3B Austioin Riley, 1B Matt Olson, C Travis d’Arnaud, DH Marcell Ozuna, LF Adam Duvall, 2B Orlando Arcia, CF Michael Harris II

Giants:  Gabe Kapler

Braves: Brian Snitker

Partly Cloudy, 96*, Humidity 46%.  Wind 12 mph.  Global warming may not be something we all think about everyday… unless you live in Atlanta.