By: Willie Bee
Atlanta , meanwhile, is just happy to escape the nation's capital without being swept. The Braves bounced back with a 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday after losing the first two games of the set, halting a 4-game losing skid in the process. Fredi Gonzalez's gang has now fallen six games behind the Nats in the NL East race, but the Braves still own a rather comfortable3.5-game margin over the St. Louis Cardinals for National League wild card honors.
Atlanta burned me twice this week in DC, and their offense has been particularly weak for the better part of a week now. The victory last night was aided by some late fielding gaffes for the Nationals, and Braves hitters are a puny 5-for-37 (.135) with runners in scoring position the past five games.
The 4-game set gets underway with a battle between pitchers who have enjoyed success when facing these opposing lineups, though a somewhat limited sample for both hurlers. Tommy Hanson is up next in Atlanta 's rotation while Barry Zito takes the ball for San Francisco . MLB betting odds for the matchup were sent out with Hanson and the Braves -110 and a 7.5 run total priced 20 cents to the UNDER. The numbers have settled in a few pennies higher on the Braves and the UNDER priced a few pennies lower by Thursday morning.
Both clubs should begin the series with a positive mood, especially San Francisco , The Giants are returning home from a 5-1 road trip that ended with a 3-game broom job in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Bruce Bochy's boys went into LA trailing the Dodgers by half a game in the NL West only to arrive home with a 2.5-game lead at the top of the division.
Hanson and Zito have combined to make eight starts against tonight's opposition, and their teams are 7-1 in those contests. The lone loss was a start by Hanson against Zito in Atlanta a little more than two years ago. Neither pitcher got a decision despite pitching, and the Giants eventually pulled off a 3-2 victory in 11 frames.
The other two assignments vs. San Francisco both went into Hanson's win column. The other four starts against the Braves by Zito were dubyas on his ledger. All five of Zito's previous career outings vs. Atlanta were at Turner Field, including the one he made while still with the Oakland Athletics, so this will be his first time to face the Braves in San Fran.
Barry Zito was particularly brilliant when he faced the Braves just after the all-star break, tossing seven innings of 3-hit, shutout baseball in a nine-zip Giants triumph. His splits are fairly even in his 12 home starts compared to the same number on the road, but the wins have been more numerous away from AT&T Park
Though a couple of his outings in the stretch were stinkers, you cannot argue with the results Hanson has produced his last dozen games. The Braves have win his last six outings and 11 of 12, including Hanson's last five starts away from home.
The Giants took two of three in Atlanta a little more than a month ago, but it was the Braves who ruled this series last season when they left the field victors in six of seven clashes. Atlanta 's last trip into San Fran ended with the Braves breaking out their brooms for a sweep that was initiated by Hanson's solid performance in the series opener.
At the same time, it's tough to get real excited about the Giants at home, especially with Zito on the mound. San Francisco is a woeful 4-10 the last 14 at AT&T Park
I'll stick with the trends by both hurlers in this series, as well as the Atlanta lineup being in the doldrums, and make my play on the UNDER.
My pick: Under 7.5 (-115)
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