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Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies – 8/22/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction


2020-08-22 19:10:00 EDT

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves meet Saturday in MLB action from SunTrust Park. 

This will be the second of three weekend games between these two teams. In the game one opener on Friday, the Braves got off to a hot start and drilled in 11 runs during the first five innings. Atlanta would eventually take a dominant 11-2 victory there. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

The Phillies posted seven hits on Friday in the loss, but the three errors and 13 hits allowed did the team in. JT Realmuto was the only Philadelphia player with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a run. Starter Aaron Nola went 2.2 innings with six hits, four earned, three walks and two homers allowed. 

For the Saturday starting role, the Phillies will send out Zack Wheeler. Over his four starts this season, Wheeler is 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. Over his MLB career, Wheeler is 47-38 with a 3.74 ERA and 738 Ks in 775.0 frames of work. 

Over on the Braves’ side, they had a great offensive outing Friday, but were helped out immensely by a good showing from starting pitcher Max Fried, who went 5.0 innings with five hits, one earned, two walks and five Ks. Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud combined for three homers, six hits, seven RBI and four runs to carry the offense in the victory.
For the starter in Saturday’s game, Atlanta will be going with Robbie Erlin. Across four games without a decision this season (one start), Erlin holds a 5.40 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 10.0 innings. In his MLB career, Erlin is 13-20 with a 4.60 ERA and 263 Ks in 323.0 innings. 

The Phillies are 5-0 in their last five Saturday games and the under is 4-1 in their last five during game two of a series. The under is 9-3 in the Phillies’ last 12 Saturday games and 7-3-1 in their last 11 road games versus a left-handed starter. 

Meanwhile, the Braves are 19-7 in their last 26 Saturday games and 20-8 in their last 28 during game two of a series. Atlanta is 40-19 in their last 59 versus a team with a losing record and the under is 5-0 in their last five Saturday games. 

Pick: I’m sticking with the Phillies here. Wheeler has been pretty darn solid so far this year, and isn’t running up high pitch counts while going deep into games. He’s been great at inducing weak contact and should be able to hold the Braves at bay. As for Erlin, he’s coming off four scoreless innings against the Marlins, and he’ll probably be good for near that amount here. I think the Phillies offense will give Wheeler enough to work with, though. 

Andrew's Free Pick: Philadelphia Phillies -130

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Andrew

Andrew has been writing about college, professional and fantasy sports betting since 2013. Andrew's goal is to break down the complicated numbers and trends into a language that's easily accessible to novice sports bettors and seasoned professionals alike.

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