MLB Baseball Betting: Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies

Quite the reversal in form between these two teams over the past few weeks. It wasn’t that long ago that the Atlanta Braves were all of a sudden winning games left and right and the Philadelphia Phillies were sinking like a stone. That’s no longer the case. The Phillies have won 7 of 10 (pending the outcome of Tuesday’s game) and the Braves have lost 7 of 10. The Braves looked to be destined to pass the Phillies and assume fourth place in the NL East but that is no longer a foregone conclusion. The Braves now trail the Phillies by 9.5 games. The Phillies could theoretically at least assert themselves into the divisional race–they’re just 5.5 games back of the third place Miami Marlins and 8 games back of the second place New York Mets. They’re 12 back of the first place Washington Nationals but that could swing very quickly and very dramatically if the division leaders should hit a losing streak. As for the Braves, they look like the same moribund team that they were earlier this season a full 21.5 games out of first place.

Working in Atlanta’s favor today is that their ‘ace’, Julio Teheran, is set to take the ball but his line is a microcosm of the Braves’ struggles this season. For the most part, he’s pitched very well. The problem is that he’s had no support from his teammates. Overall he’s got a 2.72 ERA but the Braves have managed to lose 13 of his 17 starts for a -7.6 unit loss. On the road, they’ve won 4 of his 7 starts with Teheran posting a 2.10 ERA and a 0.662 WHIP. In his last three starts he’s put up a 1.90 ERA and 0.718 WHIP but the Braves managed to lose two of those three games. He’s coming off one of his worst starts of the season against Miami giving up 5 ER and 11 hits in just under 7 innings of work. In the previous two games he pitched 17 innings of 6 hit, no ER baseball but somehow the braves just went 1-1 in those two games.

Jeremy Hellickson gets the start for Philadelphia and he’s been mediocre this season but has looked sharp in his most recent outings with a 2.37 ERA and 0.947 WHIP. This looks like a spot where the ‘avoiding the sweep’ thing might work and with the Braves down 5-0 midway through Tuesday’s game that should be in play.

BET ATLANTA BRAVES -105 OVER PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES