San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/20/2022

Time: 7:20 p.m. ET

Venue: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

Where to watch: NBC Sports Bay Area, Bally Sports South

DraftKings: Braves -155, Giants +135

BetMGM: Braves -145, Giants +120

Caesars: Braves -149, Giants +130

Giants: 37-28

Braves: 38-29

The Atlanta Braves learned a very valuable lesson this weekend. And that lesson isn't necessarily the understanding of whether or not they need to do certain things to be considered a good team or not this year. What Atlanta learned this weekend is that if you take your foot off the gas for even just a minute, you are going to find yourself in a position where you are facing a team that you are much better than that end will suddenly fall to the floor quicker than you think. And that is why this weekend series against the Chicago Cubs, in which they took only one out of a possible 3, is a little bit of an understanding and hopefully a wake up call for the Braves in that there is still a lot of a hill left to climb if they want to get to where they want to go.

And while Atlantis winning streak of 14 games was considered impressive on many standards, and trust me it very much was impressive, the one outlier among Atlanta’s winning streak was that they could not afford to lose to teams that they should be able to beat. Because as the Braves now embark on a four game series against the San Francisco Giants starting on Monday in Atlanta, we are reminded now that Atlanta maybe needed more of a wake up call then we first anticipated. Because it's one thing to lose to the Chicago Cubs in the fashion that Atlanta did. It's another entirely to come back home and completely fall apart against a team that is much considered your equal.

That's why at least for the moment, Sundays shutout victory for Atlanta was much needed. Matt Olson hit three doubles and Ian Anderson allowed only three hits into the 7th inning and Atlanta cruise to a 6-0 victory over the Cubs to avoid being swept and avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. The defending World Series champions or in a position where they've had to climb out of big hole due to their slow start this season. And with the way that the New York Mets had been able to play this year, and with the sudden resurgence of the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta I can't afford to lose ground the way that they did this weekend against Chicago.

That's not to say that Atlanta isn't a good team. They are one of the best in baseball, and they are the defending world champions for a reason. At the same time however, the Braves can't afford to have their bats go cold in a series in which they need to win. Which is why how they respond against San Francisco this weekend is going to be of the upmost importance in determining where the brave stand in the pecking order.

And of course, the Braves are a much better team at home than they are on the road. And given the fact that Atlanta will likely wake up in a much better fashion at home against the giants team that is coming in struggling after losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the finale on Sunday, this could be a great opportunity for Atlanta to get back on track.

The good news for San Francisco is that they will not be seeing Jack Suwinski again for a long while. Suwinski, the Pirates rookie, hit three homers and the walk-off in the ninth to have the Pirates avoid a sweep. I think we can safely assure Logan Webb will not allow such craziness in this one.

It might be prisoner-of-the-moment situations for me right now, but I like the Braves to come out strong. Max Fried on the mound, looking for his eighth win, and the Braves needing some signature wins to keep this great stretch of baseball going is a good thing to think about for Atlanta. Braves win 7-5

Giants are 84-60 on the road the past three seasons.

Giants are 34-21 against NL East teams the past three seasons.

Giants are 36-16 the past three seasons when Logan Webb starts.

Braves are 90-64 at home the past three seasons.

Braves are 11-3 all-time at home when Max Fried starts and the line is between +125 and -125.

Giants:
Luis Gonzalez (L) RF
Mike Yastrzemski (L) CF
Wilmer Flores (R) 3B
Joc Pederson (L) LF
Brandon Belt (L) DH
Thairo Estrada (R) 2B
Tommy La Stella (L) 1B
Brandon Crawford (L) SS
Austin Wynns (R) C
SP - Logan Webb

Braves:
Ronald Acuna Jr. (R) RF
Dansby Swanson (R) SS
Austin Riley (R) 3B
Matt Olson (L) 1B
Travis d'Arnaud (R) C
William Contreras (R) DH
Adam Duvall (R) LF
Phil Gosselin (R) 2B
Michael Harris II (L) CF
SP - Max Fried

Batting average: Thairo Estrada -- .264

Home runs: Joc Pederson -- 14

RBI: Joc Pederson -- 36

Wins: Two tied -- 6

ERA: Carlos Rodon -- 2.84

Batting average: Dansby Swanson -- .294

Home runs: Austin Riley -- 18

RBI: Austin Riley -- 41

Wins: Two tied -- 7

ERA: Max Fried -- 2.90