Philadelphia (1-5) at Atlanta (3-4) –115, o/u 9, 7 p.m. Eastern, ESPN
by Ultimatecapper.com Staff
Two teams that have stumbled a bit out of the gate meet Monday night when the Atlanta Braves play host to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Braves’ home opener at Turner Field.
Philadelphia got swept by St. Louis to open the season, then lost two of three to the Dodgers over the weekend. Monday’s game is the Phillies’ first road game of the new season.
Atlanta began the season by taking two of three games in L.A., then dropped three of four in San Francisco.
So far this season, Philly is hitting just .248 as a team, and averaging 3.5 runs per game. Phillies opponents are scoring 5.8 runs a game. Five of the six Philly games thus far have gone under the posted totals.
Atlanta, on the other hand, is hitting .282 as a team and averaging 7.6 runs per game. The Braves have already banged 12 home runs. But the Atlanta pitching staff, for so long the backbone of this team, is allowing opponents to hit a gaudy .307 this season and score 7.6 runs per game. As a result, the over is a perfect 7-0 in Braves games this season.
Monday’s Philly starter Brett Myers went 13-8 last year with a 3.72 ERA. Myers made six starts vs. Atlanta in 2005 and performed well, allowing 18 earned runs and 42 baserunners (hits + walks) in 38 1/3 innings pitched. The Phillies went 21-13 in games started by Myers last season, while the over went 13-17 in those games.
In his first start of this season five days ago, Myers allowed three earned on five hits and five walks to St. Louis in a 4-3 Philly loss.
After making two relief appearances this season, John Thomson is scheduled to make the start for Atlanta Monday. Thomson went 4-6 with a 4.38 ERA in limited action last season. The Braves went 8-9 in games started by Thomson in ’05, with the over going 11-6 in those games.
Thomson made two starts vs. the Phillies last year, allowing four earned runs and 15 baserunners in 12 innings.
Philadelphia won the season series with the Braves last year 10 games to nine. The over went 8-10-1 in those games.
The Philly bullpen has been pretty good so far this season, allowing eight earned runs in 25 innings. Atlanta relievers, on the other hand, have given up 16 earned runs and 43 baserunners in 29 innings so far this season.
The Braves will be without third baseman Chipper Jones, who suffered a leg injury on Sunday. Atlanta will probably also be without second baseman Marcus Giles, who’s battling a quad injury.
The over went 40-37 in games played at Turner Field in 2005.
The Ultimatecapper Pick: With Giles and Chipper out today we LOVE the Phillies!
