Brewers vs. Braves prediction and odds for Sunday, July 30 (Atlanta completes sweep)
By Reed Wallach
![Jul 29, 2023; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) runs Jul 29, 2023; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) runs](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_7685,h_4322,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/426/01h6kg5f7fqa3jg20meb.jpg)
The Atlanta Braves are now 30 games over .500 as the team looks to complete a series sweep of the NL Central leading Brewers in what has been a lopsided set of games so far.
The Braves won the first two games by a combined score of 21-12 and will hope that rising prospect AJ Smith-Shawver can complete the sweep on the mound. Milwaukee counters with Colin Rea in Sunday afternoon's series finale.
Here are the odds for Braves vs. Brewers with our best bet:
Brewers vs. Braves odds, run line and total
Brewers vs. Braves prediction and pick
The Braves are on a blistering path in the month of July, posting the big league high OPS (.852) and crushing 48 home runs over the last 30 days, per MLB.com, also tops in Major League Baseball. The team should have little issue knocking around Rea on Sunday afternoon, who has been prone to allowing hard contact this season. Rea is allowing 1.48 home runs per nine innings, a near-15% home run to fly ball rate. That won't work out well against this Atlanta lineup with NL MVP favorite Ronald Acuna Jr. bolstering this unit.
I also expect a strong outing from the Braves rookie, Smith-Shawver, who has some strong underlying metrics. While his home run rate is also high, the Brewers have far less pop in the lineup. The rookie has allowed nearly three home runs per nine innings in four career starts at this level, but Milwaukee is 26th in OPS on the year.
Further, Smith-Shawver has an xERA far lower than his actual mark. He has a 4.32 ERA that is supported by a 3.22 xERA. Some good times are coming for the rookie, and I expect it to start on Sunday as the Braves complete the sweep in emphatic fashion.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.