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The Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs square off on Friday with first pitch set for 2:20 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Charlie Morton will throw for the Braves with the Cubs relying on Keegan Thompson.
Atlanta (37-27) will go for a 15th consecutive victory on Friday afternoon after a day off yesterday. Morton will take the mound with a 5.67 ERA over 12 starts this season and gave up 4 runs in each of his last four starts. The Braves scored at least 5 runs in their last five games with an average of 8.4 runs per game. Austin Riley recorded 3 hits with 2 home runs in Wednesday’s game and leads the team with 18 homers and 39 RBIs.
Chicago (23-40) has a 10-game losing streak going into this matchup, coming off a four-game series where the Cubs were swept by the San Diego Padres. Thompson has a 3.67 ERA going into his 15th appearance and seventh start in this matchup. The Cubs rank 13th in on-base percentage (.318), and Willson Contreras has a .396 OBP to lead the team.
Braves vs. Cubs
Pitchers: Charlie Morton vs. Keegan Thompson
First pitch: 2:20 p.m. ET
Braves local broadcast: Bally Sports Southeast
Cubs local broadcast: Marquee Sports Network
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Odds, picks & predictions
Run line: Braves -1.5 (-110)
Run total: 8
Moneyline odds: Braves -180, Cubs +155
Moneyline pick: Cubs +155
Two streaks will come to an end on Friday afternoon with enough value on the Cubs that makes them worth the risk. Morton has not been good this season, and Chicago’s offense should do enough damage to put itself in a position to come away with a win for the first time since June 4.
Player prop pick: Charlie Morton Over 6.5 strikeouts (-115)
Morton struck out 20 batters over his last 2 starts and head into this matchup with a 9.8 K/9 against a Cubs offense that strikes out quite a bit. Chicago ranks the eighth-most strikeouts per game (8.7) and struck out 11 times in its last time out.
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