The Atlanta Braves will be out for some revenge on Wednesday night when they close out an abbreviated series with the New York Yankees. Aaron Boone’s squad made quick work of the Braves when they first collided in Yankees Stadium back on August 11 and 12. New York went on to win both matchups by the aggregate score of 15-9 and did so by way of punishing Atlanta’s pitching staff with its unforgiving offensive arsenal. This time however, the Bronx Bombers will be without the services of DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton. As for Atlanta, it will be down the bats of Ozzie Albies and Nick Markakis while Ronald Acuna Jr. is listed as questionable to return from an ailing wrist. On paper, it looks like the home based Braves possess the advantage on the starting bump with the undefeated Max Fried set to square off against Masahiro Tanaka in the series finale.
First pitch for the game between the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves is scheduled for Wednesday, August 26, 2020, at 7 p.m. ET from Truist Park. The matchup will be shown live on ESPN. You can bet on MLB Odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Odds Analysis
Though the Yankees sit seven-games over .500 entering Tuesday night’s series opener with the Braves, it’s amounted to a -$7 return on investment for MLB bettors that backed them in their first 25 played games. Where New York has excelled for MLB bettors however is on the run-line with it compiling a 17-8 record that’s increased bankrolls by $811 overall. Of the Yankees 16 overall wins, 15 came by at least two runs! Atlanta has been a moneymaker against the MLB odds on the money line producing a $149 return on investment by way of winning 16 of 28 played games. Their success hasn’t been nearly as dominant as the Yankees evidenced by a 12-16 record versus the run-line that’s cost their backers $11 overall.
New York currently offers up a 4-1 return to win the World Series. It’s also the +230 favorite to win the AL and the -185 chalk to win the AL East even though it was just swept by the Rays. Atlanta is currently 14-1 to win the World Series, +650 to represent the NL in the Fall Classic and a decided -220 chalk to win the NL East a third straight time.
Probable Pitchers
Masahiro Tanaka: Tanaka’s overall effectiveness has gotten worse over the last couple seasons. This season has been no different with the Japanese import pitching to a 4.60 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and .281 BAA through four starts. After tossing five innings of shutout ball with 5 K versus the Rays back on August 7, Tampa Bay touched him up good the second time around getting him for eight hits (2 HR) and 5 ER his last time out. The effort marked the second straight in which the veteran only managed to go four innings after giving up five hits (1 HR) and 2 ER the start prior to the Braves. Tanaka was brutal on the road last season pitching to a 6.05 ERA and .287 BAA, and Atlanta will be seeing his stuff for the second time in the last few weeks.
Max Fried: Only Shane Bieber and Trevor Bauer have lower ERAs than the left-hander to this point of the season. Fried has earned the win in four of his six made starts in which he’s tallied a miniscule 1.32 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and .188 BAA through 34 total innings of work. On top of that, he’s racked up an impressive 33:11 K/BB ratio and logged at least 5 K five times. Still, the youngster is yet to see the 7th inning, so Atlanta’s bullpen is likely to be involved in this matchup which isn’t such a terrible thing considering its 3.47 unit ERA ranks No. 7 in the league. The Yankees have murdered right-handed pitching this season, but have averaged nearly two runs per game less when running up against south paws.
Player Prop Targets
As destructive New York’s batting order has been against right-handed pitching, there’s one team that’s been even deadlier. It just so happens to be the Braves who’ve ripped righties to the tune of a .279 batting average and .829 OPS; second best in MLB. Johan Camargo took Tanaka deep back on August 12, while Freddie Freeman is 2-for-4 against him lifetime with a home run and a couple RBI. Aaron Judge will be back in the Yankees lineup for this series, so Fried best make it a point to be careful with him considering he’s mashed lefties for a 1.505 OPS and 3 HR (8 RBI). Luke Voit has also been swinging a hot bat recently having launched half of his 10 home runs in NY’s last four games; he’s slugging 1.063 against south paws!
MLB Pick
Though New York still has plenty of pop in the batting order, there’s simply too many integral pieces to the puzzle currently on the IL. I’ve already mentioned the sticks, but New York’s bullpen will also be without Luis Avilan and Zack Britton for the foreseeable future. Atlanta will get to see Tanaka’s stuff for the second time in the last few weeks, and the veteran right-hander has been extremely subpar on the road for quite some time now. The Braves have won all three of Fried’s home starts giving him an average of 7.6 runs per game to work with. With Tanaka routinely throwing cheese at the dish away from The Bronx, Atlanta will be in a great position to log a statement win and I expect them to do just that!
MLB Odds: Braves 9, Yankees 3
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
