The San Francisco Giants take on the Atlanta Braves in the final game of a three-game series on Sunday, August 20. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET from Truist Park. Jakob Junis (3-3, 4.10 ERA) will take the mound for the Giants, and Max Fried (4-1, 2.57 ERA) will pitch for the Braves.
The Braves are -245 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the Giants coming in at +200. The total is set at 9.
Giants-Braves picks: Sunday, August 20
Injury report
Giants
Out: OF Mike Yastrzemski (hamstring), OF/DH AJ Pollock (oblique), SP Anthony DeSclafani (elbow), RP John Brebbia (lat), OF Mitch Haniger (forearm)
Braves
Out: 2B Ozzie Albies (hamstring), OF Sam Hilliard (heel), SP Kyle Wright (shoulder), RP Jesse Chavez (shin), RP Dylan Lee (shoulder), SP/RP Kolby Allard (elbow), RP Nick Anderson (shoulder)
Starting pitchers
Jakob Junis vs. Max Fried
Junis has been used mostly as a reliever this season. However, he has started in a few appearances, and recently recorded a season-long start of four innings. He performed well in four frames against the Rays, conceding two hits and zero runs, and recording seven strikeouts. In his latest road appearance, he allowed one earned run and recorded three strikeouts in three innings against the Angels. The Giants’ bullpen has an ERA of 3.73.
Fried recently returned to the mound after being on the IL for much of the summer. In his first home start since his return, he allowed eight hits and two earned runs in six innings, recording just two strikeouts. He struggled in his start before that, as well, letting up four earned runs in as many innings against the Pirates.
Over/Under pick
The totals of the first two games were 4 and 11. I like the latter — Fried has been letting up plenty of hits as of late, and the Braves’ offense leads the MLB in runs per game. I think we’ll have another close, high-scoring matchup on our hands here with this interesting pitching mismatch.
Pick: Over 9
Moneyline pick
The Braves won the first two games of the series, 4-0 and 6-5. This line seems just too good to pass up after yesterday’s close call. We have a surprising pitching mismatch here — Fried hasn’t been able to settle into his groove yet and has struggled in his last two starts, while Junis has been fairly reliable on the mound over multiple innings, even if he doesn’t last long. If the Giants can keep some momentum coming in from yesterday’s late-inning push, I like them to avoid a sweep here.
Pick: Giants +200