Braves vs Giants MLB Betting Preview
The Braves avoided a sweep in their last win over the Nationals, but they still trail them by 6 games in the NL East.
Venue/ Stadium: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California
Time/Date: 10:15 PM EST Thursday, August 23, 2012
MLB Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: Braves -115 / Giants -105
Over/Under: 7.5 runs
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Tommy Hanson (12-5, 4.27 ERA) vs. Giants LH Barry Zito (9-8, 4.42)
Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants Preview
However, the Braves are tied with the Cardinals for the Wild Card lead. The Giants are coming off a sweep over the rival Dodgers and now they have a 2.5 game lead over L.A. in the NL West. MLB lines have the Braves as slight away favorites with a total of 7.5 runs.
In their last games the Giants completed the sweep beating the L.A. Dodgers 8-4 and the Braves beat the Washington Nationals 5-1.
This season the Braves have an O/U record of 54-65 with a run-line W/L record of 62-62 and the Giants have an O/U record of 64-56 with a run-line W/L record of 62-62.
On the season the Giants are 35-26 at home and the Braves are 35-24 on the road.
The Braves have beaten the Giants in their last 4 games in San Francisco.
Tommy Hanson (12-5, 4.27 ERA) goes for the Braves tonight and in his last outing he gave up 3 earned runs in 6 innings in a no decision against the Dodgers. Barry Zito (9-8, 4.42 ERA) is on the hill for the Giants and in his last outing he gave up 4 earned runs in 4 innings in a no decision against the Padres. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
In his career Zito is 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 6 starts against the Braves. In his last 4 home starts he is 0-3 with an ERA of 6.86.
Hanson is 3-0 in his last 6 starts even though he has an ERA of 6.00 and is 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA in his last 4 starts against the Giants.
Jason Heyward and Chipper Jones have never had much success facing Zito, as they are a combined 2/18 against him.
Hanson has to be careful with Joaquin Arias, as he is swinging a hot bat and is 9 for 16 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in his last 5 games.
In some betting trends for this NL match up the Braves are 18-6 in their last 24 games as a road favorite, 19-7 in Hanson’s last 26 road starts, and they have an Under record of 20-6 in their last 26 games.
The Giants are 5-1 in their last 6 games, 2-5 in Zito’s last 7 home starts, and they have an Over record of 5-0 in their last 5 home games.
Jason’s Pick: I think Zito’s luck against the Braves will run out, as he will get battered and Hanson will have a good start and Atlanta will take Game 1 of this series.
