San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves Analysis<\/h2>\n
The Atlanta Braves visit the San Francisco Giants in the first of a three game series. Spencer Strider and Alex Cobb are your starters, and first pitch in Oracle Park is scheduled for 9:45 PM EDT \/ 6:45 PM PDT.<\/p>\n
Atlanta dropped two of three to an upstart Mariners club in Seattle, while the Giants took two of three from the Cubs in Wrigley Field and went 3-5 on their recent eight-game road trip.<\/p>\n
Atlanta has the first wild-card berth, and is 1.5 games behind the Mets for the NL East lead. The Giants are 9.5 games back of the Padres for the final wild card spot with just 22 games to play, and probably won’t make the postseason.<\/p>\n
The Braves are a -190 road favorite, the Giants a +158 home underdog and the over\/under is 7.<\/p>\n
Cobb Keeps Cooking For Giants<\/h3>\n
While San Francisco caught lightning in a bottle with their 107-win season last year, their luck and performance went south in 2022.<\/p>\n
An aging, veteran lineup, key injuries and below-average performance were the reasons for the Giants regression. They’ll have a lot of work to do in the off-season to try and improve their club.<\/p>\n
Alex Cobb has been one of the few bright spots in the San Fran starting rotation. In 23 starts and 122.1 innings, he’s put up a 5-6 record, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP with 126 strikeouts. He’s not a big innings eater as he averages just over five frames per outing.<\/p>\n
However, his control has been excellent, giving up just 37 walks and nine home runs. The 11-year veteran should return for next year, and be a key part of the Giants starting staff in 2023.<\/p>\n
Strikeout Strider Strikes Again<\/h3>\n
Spencer Strider started the year in the Braves’ bullpen, but made the switch to the starting rotation in late May – and with excellent results. For the month of June, he posted a 3.24 ERA, and every month since then has been under 3.00.<\/p>\n
The right-hander has gradually gone further in games up to about 6.0 frames per outing. Strider had his best start of the season on September 1st at home versus the Rockies, throwing 8.0 shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out 16 batters.<\/p>\n
The Braves are a solid, complete team as they have the 6th lowest staff ERA, 5th lowest bullpen ERA, are 2nd in team OPS and 7th in team OPS against right-handers the last 30 days. They’ll have a great chance to go deep into the playoffs again this season.<\/p>\n
San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves Prediction<\/h2>\n
This should be a great pitching matchup, and Cobb should have success against a free-swinging Braves squad with the second-most strikeouts of any team in baseball.<\/p>\n
The Giants are struggling and playing out the string, so I don’t think we’ll see a lot of runs scored (although anything can happen on any given day). But I’ll go with the most likely scenario, and take the 1st 5 innings under 3.5 total runs scored.<\/p>\n
Prediction: 1st 5 Innings Under 3.5 Total Runs Scored<\/strong><\/p>\n \n Join Drew Martin and a rotating panel of guests for First Pitch as we break down the daily baseball slate from a betting perspective. Join WagerTalk’s team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET \/ 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.<\/p>\nFirst Pitch | MLB Predictions for Monday, September 12<\/h3>\n
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