MLB Picks & Predictions: Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks

Written May 28, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz

braves-diamondbacks-predictions-052809 The Braves are 23-23 on the year and are currently on a three game slide. The Giants swept Atlanta in San Francisco as the Braves could not seem to get any offense going. The injury bug continues to plague this team. Chipper is either on the DL or playing hurt, McCann has not been himself since coming off the DL and Garret Anderson only has 90 at bats this year. Jeff Francouer has done absolutely nothing with Yunel Escobar and Casey Kotchman being the only guys who can be counted on. They have only 33 home runs as a team. With offense being at such a premium, the pitching must be on point to get them back on track. Derek Lowe gets the nod tonight and will look to continue his great start to the season. He has a 6-2 record with a 3.45 ERA. The reason why you should be excited about Lowe’s chances tonight is due to his road warrior mentality. He is 4-1 this year on the road. In night games last year he had a 2.86 ERA. Look for him to pitch great tonight and for Casey Kotchman to come up with some key hits. The bang for you buck is here with Atlanta, but will the offense be there? Thursday’s MLB odds show the D-Backs at -127 against the Braves with the total set at 7.5 runs.

The Diamondbacks are 20-27 on the season but have been playing with more heart as of late. They are 5-3 in their last eight games and the offense has been picking up. Justin Upton has stepped up as the main guy along with Mark Reynolds. The young rookie Gerrardo Parra has been a big addition for this team as he is hitting .291 and has come up with clutch hits. However, their success will live and die with their staff. Tonight current ace Dan Haren takes the mound and is 3-4 on the year. That record is due only to his lack of run support as he has a 2.57 ERA. Last season Haren started one game against Atlanta and got bombed going 5.1 innings allowing six runs on 10 hits as the Braves hit .417 against him. I do believe Atlanta will have numerous chances tonight to capitalize at the plate. Justin Upton will be the sole x-factor not only at the plate but in the field. He will need to get on base to attempt to fluster Lowe. Do not count on it though as Lowe is great at night and on the road.

Haimo’s Hot Notes: The Braves are 6-4 in their last 10 games against the Dbacks. Arizona is 9-4 in their last 13 Thursday games. The OVER is 6-2 in the last eight games between these two. The reason for that is that the odds makers get pitching happy and don’t put two and two together. With Atlanta being the overall better team here, I like the odds I am getting with their ace on the mound. The Braves hit Haren well and this is set up for a nice double dip.

Jordan’s Picks: Atlanta Braves +117 & OVER 7.5 Runs (BEST BET)

Documented MLB Record:

58-36 OVERALL

22-14 BEST BETS

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