Diamondbacks vs. Braves prediction and odds for Wednesday, July 19 (Braves should win big)
By Peter Dewey
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves played a marathon game on Tuesday with Arizona eventually coming away with a 16-13 win.
That’s a big feat for the D-Backs, who were just 2-8 in their last 10 games heading into the matchup. However, it may be tough to steal Game 2 in Atlanta with veteran Charlie Morton on the mound for the Braves.
On the season, Morton has a 10-6 record and 3.20 ERA, but he’s been even better as of late. This month, Morton has thrown 19.0 innings, allowing just one earned run on11 hits (0.47 ERA).
He takes on Diamondbacks youngster Ryne Nelson (5-5, 4.98 ERA), who has really struggled with keeping runners off the base paths. Nelson has a 1.44 WHIP on the season and has allowed nine hits in back-to-back starts.
Let’s break down the odds and my best bet for this National League matchup:
Diamondbacks vs. Braves odds, run line and total
Diamondbacks vs. Braves prediction and pick
Both teams couldn’t stop scoring on Tuesday night, but I’m not expecting that to be the case on Wednesday.
Morton is showing why he’s been an effective pitcher in the league for so long, really dominating his opponents since the start of May and leading the Braves to a 11-7 record in his 18 starts.
I don’t trust Nelson against this Atlanta offense that is in the top five in the league in OPS, home runs, batting average and runs scored.
The young D-Backs righty is just in the 20th percentile in expected ERA and in the bottom 15 percent in several other advanced metrics (strikeout percentage, whiff percentage, average exit velocity against).
He should struggle against the Braves, and I don’t expect Arizona to tee off on Morton.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.