Yankees vs Braves

Yankees vs Braves – MLB Odds & Picks

Written by on August 24, 2020

The best early-week series around Major League Baseball – assuming the coronavirus doesn’t scuttle it – features a matchup of East Division leaders between the Yankees and Braves from Atlanta. New York will be a road favorite on the MLB odds for Tuesday’s opener behind ace Gerrit Cole.

How to Bet Yankee at Braves MLB Odds & TV Info

  • When: Tuesday, 7:10 PM ET
  • Where: Truist Park
  • Probable pitchers (away/home): Gerrit Cole/TBA
  • TV: MLB Extra Innings
  • Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
  • Opening MLB Lines: TBA
Why Bet on NY Yankees?

The Yankees will be well-rested, at least, as their weekend series vs. the Mets was called off because the Mets had some people test positive for the coronavirus. The Yanks did make a trade, though, acquiring reliever Addison Russ from the Philadelphia Phillies. Russ, a 25-year-old right-hander, has been dominant over his minor league career, with a 2.48 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 152 ⅔ innings. He could provide bullpen help for the Yankees, with Tommy Kahnle and, Zack Britton injured. New York sent back pitcher David Hale, who recently had been designated for assignment.

New York swept Atlanta two games in the Bronx earlier this month. On Aug. 11, the Yanks won 9-6. Aaron Judge hit a massive homer before leaving early – he’s now on the injured list. Luke Voit had a three-run homer in the first inning.

The next night, the Yankees beat the Braves 6-3. Aaron Hicks’ run-scoring double in the fourth chased Tyler Matzek and gave New York its first lead of the game. Gleyber Torres skied a Josh Tomlin offering to right for a single, scoring Aaron Hicks. DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit added RBI singles off Tomlin an inning later to wrap up the scoring.

New York remains without several regulars on the injured list, including Torres. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Torres (quad/hamstring) will likely be out for 2-3 weeks. The Grade 1 strain is the least severe. That puts him back in early September. The 23-year-old had gotten off to a bit of a slow start at the dish before the injury, hitting .231/.341/.295 with one homer in 91 plate appearances this year.

The good news is that slugger Aaron Judge could be back Tuesday. He had been in line to return when first eligible on Saturday and has declared himself 100 percent.

It’s ace and Cy Young favorite Gerrit Cole (4-0, 2.75) on the mound. Cole fanned 10 while allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings Wednesday against the Rays. The runs came on a pair of solo homers. He made one bad pitch — a 2-and-1 change that Ji-Man Choi made disappear in the second inning — and was brilliant the rest of the way. Even the other run he surrendered, a homer to Mike Zunino in the third, was the product of his willingness to throw his fastball aggressively in the zone.

Cole has let up a dinger in each of his six starts this season and has the sixth-worst HR/9, averaging 1.75 long balls per nine innings. Although Cole’s home run rate has risen in recent years, it’s never been quite this high.

Why Bet on Atlanta?

Atlanta took two of three at home over the weekend vs. Philadelphia but lost the finale 5-4 on Sunday. Atlanta is 4-0-1 in home sets this season and 10-4 at Truist Park this year, season, the best home record in the National League. The Braves are 11-1-2 over their last 14 series here at Truist Park. The club’s only loss came last September 17-19 to Philadelphia, when the Phillies took two-of-three games.

Atlanta has won six games this season in its last at-bat, most in the National League. The Braves led the National League in final at-bat wins in 2016 (19) and 2017 (20), tied for the league lead in 2018 (20) and finished fifth last season (20).

Since the start of the 2018 season, the Braves are 18-8 (.692) in games that end with a walk-off run. That is the best such record in the major leagues. The club’s eight losses are the fewest in the majors and the Yankees are the only other team without double-digit losses (nine).

Star outfielder Ronald Acuna (wrist) took on-field batting practice again on Sunday and could be activated ahead of Tuesday night’s series opener against the Yankees, with Cristian Pache possibly getting optioned out in a corresponding roster move. Acuna landed on the 10-day injured list on August 15, retroactive to August 11, with inflammation in his left wrist.

Originally, Touki Toussaint was penciled in to start here but that went by the wayside Sunday when he pitched in relief. So, Manager Brian Snitker has yet to announce who starts here. It won’t be Max Fried as he’s scheduled for Wednesday’s game. It could be a bullpen game or the team could call someone up from the alternate team site.

Expert Prediction Yankees 5, Braves 2  

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