Diamondbacks vs. Braves prediction and odds for Thursday, July 20 (Gallen vs. Strider)
By Josh Yourish
The Atlanta Braves didn’t really get much of an All-Star break because half their roster played in the All-Star Game, so it seems like they’ve extended vacation through this entire week. Yesterday, the Arizona Diamondbacks took the second game of three to secure a winning set and set up a possible sweep today. The Braves have lost four of five since the break and are 61-33. The Diamondbacks are 54-42 1.5 games behind the Dodgers in the division.
Today will be the best possible pitching matchup as Zac Gallen goes opposite Spencer Strider. These two Cy Young candidates will go pitch-for-pitch and likely strikeout-for-strikeout. Gallen is 11-4 with a 3.14 ERA while Strider is 11-3 with a 3.66 ERA.
We have a pitcher’s duel this afternoon in Atlanta, so let’s get into the odds.
Diamondbacks vs. Braves odds, run line and total
Diamondbacks vs. Braves prediction and pick
Neither Gallen or Strider were very good last time out, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to struggle today. Gallen allowed three runs on six hits over five innings in his most recent start which is a lot better than the five runs on eight hits that Strider allowed against the White Sox.
Despite that, these two are both fantastic, Gallen has a 2.90 FIP and Strider a 2.81. Gallen has 130 strikeouts to 26 walks while Strider leads the league with 176 strikeouts to 34 walks. The strikeouts are the biggest difference between the two and you start to see some separation between them with Strider’s 3.06 xERA to Gallen’s 3.61 xERA.
Another difference is the guys taking the mound after these two, and the lineups that they’ll face. Atlanta’s bullpen is third in ERA at 3.58 this season while Arizona’s bullpen has a 4.20 ERA. Atlanta also has the best lineup in all of baseball. While Arizona is not bad with the bats and even outgunned Atlanta in Game 1 of this series, 16-13, they really don’t compare.
I can’t look at this pitching matchup and take anything other than the under. Game 1 of this series saw 29 runs scored, and Game 3 won’t see nine.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change