The Braves enjoyed a banner home opener Friday night by hosting rivals Philadelphia Phillies in the first of a three games series at Turner Field in Atlanta. Braves batters, sparked by Chipper Jones chased Phillies ace left-hander Cliff Lee from the game and behind strong pitching from Tim Hudson notched a 6-3 victory. Today (1:10 pm Eastern) Braves right-hander Brandon Beachy will be looking for his first big league win when he faces veteran left-hander Roy Oswalt who will be countering for the Phillies.
Oddsmakers installing today's MLB Lines currently show Philadelphia slight -115 moneyline favorites for Saturday's game and have posted an OVER/UNDER total of 7 1/2. Braves backers are giving -105 ML odds for a SU win. Run Line prices show the Phillies giving -240 (+1 1/2) and the Braves getting +190 (-1 1/2).
Oswalt will be composed as usual when he takes the mound for the Phillies today. In his last outing, he faced his old Houston Astros teammates, only giving up five hits and getting his first win of 2011. Keeping his composure will be important for Beachy, who is looking for his first Major League win. Beachy looked good in his first start at Milwaukee pitching six innings, giving up only one run, but failed to get a decision. The Braves went on to win the game 2-1. Atlanta can take comfort in the fact that Oswalt has struggled against the Braves career wise going 0-3 with a 6.21 ERA in eight career starts.
With the Braves win on Friday, backers collected as -105 money line favorites and OVER bettors collected on the 9-run total going over the posted 7-run total. The Phillies lead the NL East with a 5-2 record but at 4-4, the Braves are closing the gap.
Our readers cashed on our Friday MLB Picks by betting OVER-7 on the total so we hope lightening will strike twice on Saturday. However, I'm staying away from the total today and backing Oswalt and the Phillies to pull out a SU win at -115 odds. MLB BEST BET – Phillies -115.
