Although their season has been filled with injuries, the Atlanta Braves have seen some players step up to absorb the roster blows, and one of them is Wednesday’s starting pitcher, Reynaldo Lopez, for game one of their doubleheader on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Atlanta Braves (-135, 8) vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Lopez has a 1.57 ERA this season with 9.2 strikeouts to 2.8 walks per nine innings with two earned runs or fewer allowed in eight straight starts this season with no more than three runs allowed in any start in 2024.
Lopez faces a lineup that entered the series tied for 22nd in runs per game with just over four runs per game while the Braves have had their own problems, ranking 14th in scoring with just under 4.5 runs per game.
Specifically against right-handed pitching is where the Braves offense has had issues, with their 56 home runs off of right-handers entering the series ranking 20th in the league and .304 on-base percentage ranked 21st.
Right-handed pitcher Kyle Gibson gets the start for St. Louis in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, owning a 3.34 ERA with a 4.14 fielding independent while allowing 1.1 home runs and 3.3 walks per nine innings while getting 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Both bullpens have been effective this season as well with the Braves’ 3.26 ERA in their bullpen ranked fifth among the 30 MLB teams while the Cardinals’ 3.67 ERA is 13th.
With the consistency Lopez has shown to shut teams down coupled with the Braves’ struggles against right-handed pitching, the first game of this doubleheader sets up for a pitcher’s duel.
The Play: Braves vs. Cardinals Under 8 Runs in Game One of the doubleheader
See which team DraftKings bettors are backing.
