As yet another part of a loaded Saturday slate across the entire MLB, the Texas Rangers close out a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Globe Life Field tonight. The home team took the first two matchups of this set, so will they bring out the brooms to complete the sweep this evening?
Here’s a Rangers vs. Braves prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Saturday’s action.
Rangers vs. Braves prediction, preview
Well, the Rangers just keep rolling after the All-Star break with their fourth straight win coming last night by an 8-3 margin. Texas has now won six of seven contests since the season resumed and they look like a team to watch if this hot streak continues, which signs indicate may be the case at 54-50 and 8-2 across their last 10 contests.
It would be nice to see the bats show as much heat as they did prior to the All-Star Game since they’re batting just .201 with a .267 OBP since returning, but there’s reason to think these Rangers may have hit their stride with more run support over the last month than their elite pitching staff saw over the first few months of the season. They won’t score eight runs on eight hits often as they did last night, but enough pieces are clicking into place to make this work.
The same can’t be said about the Braves, who tallied six hits last night in another disappointing outcome as they fell to 44-58 overall and 2-5 since the break. It seems more likely with each passing day that Atlanta may end up forced to sell at the deadline as they remain fourth in the NL East and just 3.5 games ahead of the last-place Washington Nationals, a rebuilding squad.
The Braves do have the better pitcher on the mound tonight in Grant Holmes (3.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 121 SO), who faces Kumar Rocker (5.66 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 48 SO). However, the latter boasts an impressive home split with a 1.84 ERA and 0.85 WHIP at the Rangers’ ballpark, so the difference between the two may not actually play as large a factor as the overall numbers suggest.
Rangers vs. Braves pick, best bet
The odds for today’s game imply this may end up a closer affair than one would expect. The Rangers are a very slight favorite at -112 on the Moneyline with the Braves just behind at -108 themselves. The run total sits at a modest 8.5.
This feels a little bit like a trap game given the odds and Rocker’s splits at home, so I actually do like Atlanta to fend off the sweep this evening at Globe Life Field. Holmes’ pitching generates lots of strikeouts with swing-and-miss stuff and while the Rangers are just middle-of-the-pack in Ks, they haven’t hit particularly well following the All-Star break. I think Holmes can take advantage of that and keep the Braves in this game while he’s out there.
Now, things could change once the bullpens come in. The visitors just need to hope they can shake off the ugliness of this series so far and get to Rocker early, which remains a distinct possibility. If Atlanta can build a little bit of a lead, they should be able to hold on and fend off the sweep.
Best bet: ATL Braves ML (-108)
Click the odds on these bets to tail!
