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Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves
A pair of electric arms will take to the starting bump for their respective teams on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast when Johnny Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds goes pitch for pitch with the Atlanta Braves’ Jair Jurrjens in the series finale.
Reds’ fans and betting backers got to breathe a major sigh of relief in Friday night’s series opener when Cincy scored the 5-1 win as +150 underdogs to halt its losing streak at two in a row. Even with the win, manager Dusty Baker’s squad has been reeling coming up winners in just two of their L/10 overall games played (-$665). Their recent shoddy play has cost MLB bettors $287 overall (27-25) and they’ve played to a 12-14 (-$92) mark as a visitor heading into Saturday’s Game 2 match-up; the Reds have tallied wins in just two of their L/9 road games.
Though the Braves sit four-games over .500 on the year heading into Saturday’s battle, Atlanta has been a major disappointment for MLB bettors on the year (-$142). Friday’s stumble saw them fall for the fifth time the L/7 times they went off the board as a chalk. Most surprising has been Atlanta’s inability to protect its house only winning 14 of their 25 home games on the year (-$181); the Braves led the league with 56 home wins (+$1601) just a short season ago. As it is, Atlanta trails the Philadelphia Phillies by 4.5-games in the top heavy NL East.
The Braves won three of these team’s five meetings a year ago, but with Friday night’s triumph, the defending NL Central champs have beaten Atlanta in nine of the L/13 overall meetings. The ‘under’ is 7-3 in the L/10 overall. Cincy’s just 3-7 in Cueto’s L/10 starts and just 3-8 its L/11 vs. NL East opposition. Atlanta’s a rock solid 9-1 its L/10 vs. the NL Central and 13-3 in Jurrjens’ L/13 Turner Field outings.
PICK: Braves/Reds UNDER
