By: Willie Bee
Bettors who have been following both starting pitchers are going to have a tough decision to make in Game 1. Hudson missed 4-5 turns in Atlanta 's rotation following offseason back surgery, but has still managed to produce the second-highest return in the majors with the Braves 12-4 and up 12.2 units when the righthander is on the bump. Washington could be even better than the 15-9 mark (+5.0 units) behind Zimmermann who leads the Senior Circuit with a 2.38 ERA.
Washington has taken eight of the 12 played this season to increase its record to 47-37 in the series overall since the start of the '08 campaign. Atlanta has split the six played at Nationals Park
A tough stretch on the schedule continues this week for the Atlanta Braves who embark on a 10-day road trip that will take them coast-to-coast. Up first is a stop in the nation's capital for a huge 3-game series against the Washington Nationals.
The clash between the top two clubs in the NL East begins Monday at Nationals Park Washington opened in the upper -120's, but had been bet up to -135 on the MLB odds board by early Monday morning.
SBRodds showed an initial 7.5 run total that was priced two bits to the UNDER. That number still remains at a few online baseball betting sites, though 7 (OVER) can also be found.
The Braves hit the road on a bit of a downer after going down in the final two games of their weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. That set was the commencement of a crucial 10-game string for Atlanta who will go to San Francisco for four against the Giants this weekend. We will be following along all week as the Braves try to improve their positioning in the National League playoff hunt, presently five games south of the Nats in the division race and a 3-game gap at the top of the NL wild card ranks.
Bettors who have been following both starting pitchers are going to have a tough decision to make in Game 1.
Those bettors placing their MLB picks on the Braves have really been raking it in the past six weeks or so when Hudson takes the mound. Atlanta has won eight straight of his outings, the offense picking him up when Hudson suffered a couple of rough assignments. The last team to beat him was Washington at Turner Field in early July. Two of his four losses have come at the hands of the Nats who knocked him around in both games (combined 12.2 IP, 12 ER).
Zimmermann is coming off the first loss on his personal ledger since June 22. The Nationals are 8-2 in his last 10, and could easily be 10-0 with his ERA at 2.13 in the two defeats. He has missed the Braves each of the first four series between the clubs, a freak result in the scheduling.Washington lost both of his 2011 outings against the Braves after winning a game each with Zimmermann facing them in 2009 and 2010.
The Nats have been the top road warriors this season (41-23, .640) but struggled at home until recently. Washington has to be happy recently, however, opening this homestand by taking two of three from the New York Mets and winning six of the last eight in DC. Tied for the second-most road triumphs (34) and second-highest away win percentage (.607) are the Braves. They weren't always that great at home earlier this season either, losing 11 of their first 21 in Atlanta and including being swept by these Nationals.
That's where we begin this game in DC, this Braves-Nats series and this week with Atlanta . I likeHudson in the opener using the old "third time's the charm" approach, and hope Braves hitters can snap back after being blanked on Sunday. Atlanta on a small dog line will be my play.
My pick: Braves +125 ---
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