Braves vs Yankees MLB Betting Preview & Expert Pick.

Braves vs Yankees MLB Betting Preview & Expert Pick

Written by on July 3, 2018

Some baseball fans are tired of interleague play, but without it, we wouldn’t get a terrific matchup like Tuesday when the Braves and Yankees face off in what could be a preview of October baseball. The Yankees are favored by a rather shocking amount on the Mybookie Sportsbook MLB Betting Odds even though the Braves appear to have the starting pitching edge.

MLB Betting Preview & Expert Pick: Atlanta at New York

  • When: Tuesday, 7:05 PM ET
  • Where: Yankee Stadium, New York
  • Probable Pitchers: Sean Newcomb/Domingo German
  • TV: MLB Network
  • Live Stream: MLB.tv
  • Radio: TuneIn
  • MLB Betting Odds: New York Yankees -179 / Atlanta Braves +169 (Total at 9)

WORLD SERIES POSSIBLE MATCHUPS

Recent Head to Head (Last 10 Games)

  • Runs: Atlanta Braves 5.04 / New York Yankees 5.12
  • Hits: Atlanta Braves 9.17 / New York Yankees 8.56
  • Walks: Atlanta Braves 3.28 / New York Yankees 3.79
  • Strikeouts: Atlanta Braves 7.82 / New York Yankees 9.00

Why Bet on Atlanta?

The Braves were expected to activate closer Arodys Vizcaino off the DL for Monday’s series opener. He has been out since mid-June with a shoulder problem. The team made two other moves on Monday, recalling pitcher Evan Phillips and outfielder Michael Reed from Triple-A. The 23-year-old Phillips has posted a dominant 2.09 ERA and 58/14 K/BB ratio over 38 2/3 innings in Triple-A this year. Reed, 25, earned the call-up after batting .337/.460/.535 with nine homers and seven steals over 74 games this season between Double- and Triple-A. As of Monday, Atlanta had the NL’s best record while New York had the best in the AL. Thus, this is just the third time since interleague play began in 1997 that the two leagues’ top teams will meet this late into the season. The last time was 2015 when St. Louis played host to Kansas City on July 23 for a make-up game. The Braves are 30-19 (.612) so far this season against teams with winning records, the National League’s best record in such games. Only the Yankees (.738) and Boston (.667) are better this season. The Braves rotation ranks second in the majors with a 3.31 ERA and trails only Houston’s mark of 2.95. The Braves starters are also holding the opposition to a .229 batting average, the best mark in the National League, and the third lowest average against in the majors. The Braves rotation has 18 scoreless starts of multiple innings this season, the most in the majors and four more than the closest N.L team (Los Angeles). LHP Sean Newcomb has six such starts, tied for the major league lead with the Yankees’ RHP Luis Severino. It’s Newcomb (8-2, 2.71) on the mound here. Newcomb didn’t factor into the decision in last Wednesday’s 6-5 loss to the Reds, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings while striking out six. The left-hander continues to give the Braves consistent innings — he’s reeled off three straight quality starts, and 11 in 16 outings on the season. The 25-year-old is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three Interleague starts this season but has not faced the Yankees in his career.

Why Bet on NY Yankees?

The Braves make their second-ever visit to the current Yankee Stadium, as Atlanta took 2-of-3 from the Yankees in 2012. Since that 2012 series, 13 of the other 14 NL clubs have played at new Yankee Stadium (all but San Diego, which has never played at this venue). The Yankees are 7-10 at home vs. Atlanta in the regular season all-time (went 6-8 at the original Yankee Stadium). New York remains without star catcher Gary Sanchez. He’s dealing with a groin injury and not likely back until around the All-Star break. Austin Romine will continue to serve as the Bombers’ backstop until then, although he’s dealing with a bit of a hamstring issue. So it might be Kyle Higashioka behind the plate here. The Yankees are 18-3-2 over their last 23 series. They are a Major League-best 38-4 (.905) when scoring first and an MLB best 35-5 (.875) when their starter tosses at least 6.0 innings. New York is 20-14 vs. the AL East and 34-13 vs. all other divisions. The Yanks lead the majors with 137 homers this season as of Monday, setting a franchise record for the most HRs before the All-Star break (prev. 134 HR in 2002, ’12). That total is tied for the second-highest in the first 81 games of a season. New York is on pace for 274 HR (MLB record is 264 by Seattle in 1997). The Yankees are MLB Betting favorites against the Braves. Aaron Judge (22), Giancarlo Stanton (19), Didi Gregorius (15) and Gleyber Torres (15) are only the second quartet in franchise history to hit at least 15 HR before the All-Star break, joining a group in 2002 (Jason Giambi-22, Alfonso Soriano-20, Robin Ventura-19, Jorge Posada-15). It’s rookie Domingo German on the mound here. German (2-4, 5.32) was roughed up for six runs and nine hits in three innings in his last start on June 24 at Tampa Bay but has pitched one scoreless inning of relief since. German will make his 10th start of the season (and 16th appearance) on Tuesday. German made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 2017, going 0-1 with a 3.14 ERA (14.1IP, 5ER) in seven relief appearances. He’s only in there because of injuries to Jordan Montgomery and Masahiro Tanaka.

Latest MLB Betting Trends

  • Atlanta is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
  • Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
  • The total has gone OVER in 8 of Atlanta’s last 12 games
  • New York is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games at home
  • The total has gone UNDER in 21 of NY Yankees’ last 25 games
  • Braves are 5-1 in Newcomb’s last 6 starts with 5 days of rest
  • Braves are 5-2 in Newcomb’s last 7 road starts
  • Yankees are 5-0 in their last 5 Tuesday games
  • Yankees are 21-6 in their last 27 games vs. a left-handed starter

Expert Prediction

The Yankees are a monster at home, but Newcomb is a terrific young pitcher. Go Atlanta for the upset.