A major heater by the defending champs got them back into the NL East race. By winning 17 of their previous 22 games, the Atlanta Braves moved within striking distance of the Mets making the division tighter than it’s been in some time. That run, which included 14 straight victories, came at the expense of teams currently with a losing record.
The Braves avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season beating Chicago and return home to take on two of the top teams in the NL West starting with a four-game set against the San Francisco Giants. The Braves are scheduled to start Spencer Strider in Tuesday’s matchup with the visitors undecided.
Giants vs Atlanta Braves Date & Time
This NL showdown takes place on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 7:20 p.m. ET from Truist Park. The game will air live on TBS with betting options for every game on the 2022 MLB schedule available at BookMaker.eu.
Giants vs Braves Odds
San Francisco Giants (Check Back Later)
Atlanta Braves (Check Back Later)
Total (Check Back Later)
Season So Far
The Giants have a tough act to follow after winning 107 games and the NL West crown last season. They haven’t been nearly as good, but they haven’t dropped off a cliff either. They opened their current road trip taking the first two in Pittsburgh before falling on Sunday, 4-3. Still, the Giants are 7-2 in their last nine games trailing the division-leading Dodgers by 3.0 games to start the week. The current streak started with a three-game sweep of their rivals making the division a three-team race.
Nothing the Giants do particularly stands out, which is why their 37-28 record is impressive. They’ve struggled offensively with injuries taking a toll. As a team they hit.238 with a .723 OPS, but they can hit the long ball allowing them to rank sixth in MLB with nearly five runs per game. Adding Joc Pederson proved to be a good move just like the acquisition of Carlos Rodon was to the rotation. Pederson leads the club with 14 homers and goes against the team he helped win a world title with.
The Braves snuck up on everyone last season to win the World Series. They had the fewest wins of any playoff team but got hot at the right time. They also benefitted from what was a weak division, though that’s seemingly not the case this year. That is putting pressure on the Braves to step up their game, and they have recently. They fell one win shy of matching the franchise’s post-1900 record winning streak climbing within five games of the top spot.
The loss of Ozzie Albies for a few months could impact the offense, but others have stepped up making the Braves the hottest ticket in the league. Including their 14-game winning streak, the Braves went 21-8 in their past 29 games, though all those were against teams with a losing record at the time of the matchup. Still, the Braves did what they had to do proving they aren’t ready to hand over the crown just yet.
Probable Pitchers
Part of the Giants success last season was an overachieving rotation that included Anthony DeSclafani (0-1, 6.08 ERA). He won a career-best 13 games in 2021 with a 3.17 ERA, but it’s been a tough go so far. He’s been out of the rotation with an ankle injury, and though the team is undecided on Tuesday’s starter, there’s a good chance DeSclafani joins the rotation to start. He recently made a second rehab start with no complications.
DeSclafani hasn’t pitched a major league game since late April when he was pounded for nine hits, including a pair of home runs, and five earned runs over 5.0 innings in a loss to the Mets. He hasn’t had a lot of success against the Braves over his career going 1-4 with a 4.54 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in seven starts covering 35.2 innings. He’s also allowed six homers in that span.
Spencer Strider (3-2, 2.45 ERA) is scheduled to make his fifth start, and he’s gotten better since a rough first outing. His first 11 appearances were out of the pen posting a 2.22 ERA over 24.1 innings. He gave up three earned in 4.1 innings in his first start, but he’s been solid since winning his last two starts with the team going 3-0.
Tossing a season-high 106 pitches last time out, Strider struck out 11 allowing only one hit matching his longest outing at 5.2 frames as the Braves won their 14th straight. Over 15.1 innings in his previous three starts, he’s allowed seven hits with a 1.76 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. He’s facing the Giants for the first time.
Giants vs Braves Predictions
The Braves are doing a lot of things well during their run. I guess it’s hard to win that many games if you aren’t. They can rake the ball and the staff has been sharp. They will cool off at some point, but they are the defending champs for a reason. It would be a boost for the Giants if DeSclafani gets back in the rotation, but he struggled in his early starts and stamina could be an issue if he does get the green light. I’ll back the home team because of it.
Prediction: Atlanta Braves / OVER
