Giants vs Braves | Prediction

San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves
7:10 PM Thurday August 5 – MLBN
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Pitching Probables: Tim Lincecum vs Jair Jurrjens

The San Francisco Giants have been playing well, closing within one game in the National League West while commanding a nice working margin in the Wild Card race. Their formula: top notch starting pitching coupled with timely hitting. When it comes to dominance no team is better than San Francisco. Led by starter Tim Lincecum they are second in team ERA, second in quality starts and first in the majors in strikeouts. Lincecum may be having a down year by his lofty standards but he can still bring it. The Braves should know, he struck out 10 Atlanta batters in an early season start and is 6-1 lifetime averaging more than a strikeout an inning. The Braves have been spinning their wheels lately and seeing Lincecum is not going to make things any easier.

Braves starter Jair Jurrjens was hurt for more than a month and has been struggling to get back to last year’s form. The Giants lineup is not very intimidating but it can sometimes be imposing when you have to match Lincecum zero for zero. It appears that Jurrjens enjoys home cooking. His ERA at home is below two while his road ERA is over seven. When you look at his peripherals nothing jumps out, he just hasn’t been able to get out of jams outside the friendly confines of Turner Field. The way these teams struggle with the stick, especially with Atlanta minus All Star Martin Prado, this is shaping up as a low scoring pitcher’s duel.

The odds makers have the Giants as a -1½ point favorite with a run total of 7.

Prediction: San Fran has the better starter and has been playing better since the break on the whole. This is a big series and they get to start it with their ace, a major advantage

Score Prediction:
San Francisco Giants – 3
Atlanta Braves – 1

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San Francisco Giants Betting Trends:

• San Francisco is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
• San Francisco is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
• San Francisco is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games when playing Atlanta
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Atlanta

Atlanta Braves Betting Trends:

• Atlanta is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home
• Atlanta is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing San Francisco
• Atlanta is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games when playing at home against San Francisco
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 6 games when playing at home against San Francisco