Phillies vs Braves – MLB Free Pick – Saturday April 9, 2011
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Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves
Date/Time: Saturday, April 9, 1:00 PM ET
Venue: Turner Field in Atlanta, GA.
Broadcast: FOX
Money Line: Phillies -115 / Braves -105
Over/Under: 7.5
National League East rivals that figure to being playing baseball long into October square off in Georgia as the Philadelphia Phillies visit the Atlanta Braves in game two of a three-game weekend series on Saturday afternoon.
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The Braves spotted the Phils a 3-0 lead on Friday before coming from behind to win 6-3. Martin Prado went 3-for-5 while ageless Chipper Jones went 2-for-4 and had 3 RBI in the victory. Cliff Lee, one of the Phillies ‘four aces’ just didn’t have it on Friday night, surrendering six earned runs on 10 hits in just 3 1/3 innings.
The Braves will try to keep things going on Saturday when they send 24-year old Brandon Beachy to the bump to oppose Philadelphia’s Roy Oswalt. Atlanta is looking to even their record on this young season at 4-4 in this game. Catcher Brian McCann has started strong this season, as he always seems to do. He is 11-for-26 with five RBI. Jones is 8-for-25 and appears to be pain-free. Jason Heyward and newly acquired second baseman Dan Uggla have accounted for four of Atlanta’s six homers this season.
Three players for the Phillies are already in double figures for hits in this young season. Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard each have 12 hits on the season. Polanco has four doubles and has scored six runs, while Howard has smacked two homers and driven in a team-high nine RBI. Ben Francisco has ten hits with two doubles and six RBI on the season. The Phillies have relied on their starting staff so far this season to win games.
This is Fredi Gonzalez’s first season as the Braves skipper after the retirement of long time manager Bobby Cox. The Phillies took ten of 18 last season from the Braves, which is one thing Gonzalez wants to turn around for the Braves to be even more competitive with the Phils. Another area he needs to show improvement is their April record, where the Bravos went just 9-14 last season and scored just 85 runs in the first month of the season.
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Matt’s Free Prediction: Philadelphia – Roy Oswalt has an 0-3 record with a 6.21 ERA in eight career starts against the Braves. Of course, most of those were with the Astros, and Oswalt is too good a pitcher not to flip the script in this game. The Braves have too many free swingers, which should lead to a double-digit strikeout total for Oswalt.
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Philadelphia Phillies Betting Trends:
- Philadelphia is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games
- Philadelphia is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games on the road
- Philadelphia is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
Atlanta Braves Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Atlanta’s last 19 games
- Atlanta is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- Atlanta is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Atlanta’s last 11 games at home
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