Atlanta at Cincinnati Saturday MLB Betting Tips & Match Preview

Posted by Juan Carlos on Friday,June 2, 2017 9:47, EDT in

The Atlanta Braves have struggled offensively on their nine-game road trip, and they look to turn things around on Saturday in Game 2 of their series at Cincinnati, which is also sinking in the standings. The Braves are coming off a 3 game series against the Los Angeles Angels, which they lost at 1-2. For the Reds, it wasn’t a good series against the Toronto Blue Jays this past week. They lost every game, leaving the series at 0-3. It’s a national TV game with live MLB betting available.

Atlanta at Cincinnati Saturday MLB Betting Tips & Match Preview

When: Saturday, June 3, 4:10 PM ET
Where: Great American Ball Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): RA Dickey/Scott Feldman
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: MLB.tv
Radio: Atlanta / Cincinnati
Opening MLB Lines: Reds favored by TBA

Why Bet On Atlanta?

The Braves enter this season having lost six of eight and are 2-4 on the trip, scoring more than three runs just once. They will get a few reinforcements back, however. Starting third baseman Adonis Garcia is set to be activated from the disabled list Friday. Garcia went 6-for- 15 (.400) with three doubles and four RBI on his five-game minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett. Out since May 16 with Achilles tendinitis, he is expected to reclaim his spot as the Braves’ primary third baseman. Rookie 3B Rio Ruiz will stay with the major league team for the foreseeable future. Ruiz has hit .244 with two doubles, one homer and five RBIs in 14 games, albeit with just three walks and 15 strikeouts in 45 at-bats. He will still play third at times.

Lefty reliever Eric O’Flaherty also will be activated. He has been on the disabled list for the last 12 days due to a lower back strain. O’Flaherty will return to a disappointing 6.59 season ERA.

Braves outfielder Matt Kemp had a huge May, batting .357 with four homers and 14 RBIs. He totaled 41 hits. Ender Inciarte hit .336 in May and had 40 hits. Inciarte’s and Kemp’s hit totals are the most by a Braves player since 2012, when Martin Prado finished the month with 40 hits. Only 16 Braves players in the baseball’s modern era (since 1900) had ever collected 40 hits in May. The franchise record for the modern era is 47 by Hank Aaron (1959) and Ralph Garr (1974). Kemp finished sixth among National League outfielders in Tuesday’s first round of results released for the All-Star Game ballot, earning 284,420 votes.

It’s veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (3-4, 4.95) on the mound here. Dickey struggled mightily in Sunday’s loss to the Giants, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on six hits over six innings. Dickey had major issues with his control in this loss, walking five and throwing only 53 of his 87 pitches for strikes. The Giants took early advantage of his ineffectiveness, striking for two runs in the first inning, four in the second and one more in the third before settling down. Dickey saw his ERA rise from 4.17 to 4.65 with Sunday’s dismal showing. He’ll look to turn things around in June after a month of May in which he posted a 6.25 ERA over five starts. Dickey hasn’t faced the Reds this year.

Why Bet On Cincinnati?

The Reds were in first place for a while in the NL Central but are now closer to last, which was their expected finish.

They completed an eight-game road trip on Wednesday at 3-4 with a 5-4 loss in Toronto – one game was rained out. The Jay swept that series. One bright spot entering Friday: The Reds have scored in the first inning of six straight games, the first time they’ve done that since August 25-30, 1999.

The Reds are the only team in the Major Leagues with at least 4 players who have produced at least 10 HRs each, including Scott Schebler (16), Adam Duvall (14), Joey Votto (14) and Eugenio Suárez (10). That quartet’s 54 homers are more than the Red Sox, Giants, Braves, Pirates and Cardinals.

Cincy’s defense ranks near the top of the National League in fielding percentage. Its 25 errors are second-fewest in the NL (Col 1st, 24). Catcher Tucker Barnhart, 1B Joey Votto and 2B José Peraza lead the league at their positions in fielding percentage.

It’s Scott Feldman (4-4, 4.26) on the mound. Feldman yielded four earned runs over five innings but got a win Sunday versus the Phillies. Feldman was backed by eight runs, including five homers, from the Cincinnati offense. The right-hander didn’t issue a walk. He is coming off an up and down month of May, where he had a 5.08 ERA. Feldman is 2-2 with a 3.53 ERA at home this year compared to a 5.26 ERA on the road. He hasn’t faced the Braves in 2017.

Atlanta at Cincinnati MLB Betting Pick: Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati went 4-3 vs. Atlanta each of the past two seasons, and Feldman has been solid at home.