Lefty Chris Sale has been everything the Atlanta Braves could have hoped for when they acquired him via trade this off season from Boston, as Sale is among the NL Cy Young favorites as he pitches Wednesday in St. Louis in a potential NL playoff preview.
According to MyBookie Sportsbook, the Braves are favorites on the MLB odds.
| MLB Picks: Braves -185, Cardinals +165 (total 8) Score Prediction: Braves 5, Cardinals 3 |
Atlanta Braves Moneyline -114
The Braves remain without outfielder and former NL Rookie of the Year Michael Harris with a Grade 2 left hamstring. Braves manager Brian Snitker wasn’t willing to put a timetable on the recovery, but there’s certainly reason to expect Harris will miss at least a month.
Injuries to Consider
The injury to Harris is another significant blow for the Braves after losing reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr, for the season due to a torn left ACL. Harris had taken over the leadoff spot against righties following Acuña’s injury.
Shortstop Orlando Arcia has been battling a bit of an illness and got Tuesday off; remains to be seen if Arcia will play here. Zack Short would continue to play at short if Arcia sits.
On Tuesday, the Braves put infielder Brian Anderson on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 22, with a bacterial infection.
The 31-year-old is replaced on the roster by Luke Williams, with Williams being recalled from Triple-A in the corresponding transaction. Anderson was simply a depth piece.
The Brave’s Homers
The Braves are again too reliant on homers, as 70.5% of the Braves’ runs dating to June 14 have come from the long ball. That percentage is highest in the majors.
Through Atlanta’s first 66 games of the season, just 38.0% of its runs came via homer, 11th most in baseball. The Braves were the only team in baseball to score over half of its runs (51.7%) from the home run last season.
Dating to June 14, catchers Sean Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud have combined to bat .379/.400/.828 with nine runs and seven RBI. Their 1.228 OPS in that span is second best by a catching corps in baseball.
Since the start of last season, Atlanta’s catchers lead the NL in homers (42), RBI (140) and extra-base hits (95).
Chris Sale for Wednesday
It’s lefty ace on the mound Wednesday. Sale (10-2, 2.91 ERA) picked up the win last Friday, allowing one run on one hit and three walks over five innings in an 8-1 victory over the Yankees. He struck out eight.
Sale was on from the get-go as NYC stars Aaron Judge and Juan Soto were a combined 0-for-4 with four punch outs Sale and just two Yankees reached second base.
More notable, Sale’s velocity was up nearly two ticks across the board. His fastball topped out at 98.4 MPH, the fastest he’s thrown a pitch in more than 13 months.
A Jahmai Jones triple in the second inning was the only knock on Sale’s line, as the veteran struck out at least seven batters for the eighth time in nine starts since the beginning of May.
Over that stretch, he’s posted a 2.45 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 74:9 K:BB through 55 innings en route to becoming the third pitcher in the majors this season to reach double-digit wins. With one more victory, he will have as many wins this year as he did from 2020-23 combined.
In his 2015-17 peak stretch, Sale was less of a ground-ball pitcher than he is today, as his 49.0% grounder rate is a career best. Conversely, he used to run pretty high pop up rates in his White Sox days.
His 1.9% pop up rate thus far this season is by far a career low. His, 2024 31.4% K rate is great, to be sure, but he’s topped that multiple times earlier in his career. His current 4.7% BB rate, however, is a career best.
Sale has made two career starts vs. the Cardinals without a decision despite a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings.
^MyBookie MLB Betting Picks to Win
St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline -107
Injuries to Consider
The Cardinals got a big boost on Monday with the return of All-Star catcher Willson Contreras from the injured list. He had an RBI single and scored a run in Monday’s win against Atlanta, less than 7 weeks after fracturing his forearm.
Contreras said he found another source of inspiration to push for an early comeback. The three-time All-Star had a titanium plate and screws surgically implanted to stabilize the fractured ulna bone in his arm.
All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado was out of the starting lineup for a second straight day on Monday because of lingering nerve irritation in his left forearm, but he did make some progress by taking ground balls during batting practice, showing no ill effects of the injury.
Swinging a bat, however, is still a major area of concern. Arenado was injured on a check-swing in the seventh inning of Saturday’s win over the Giants, aggravating an injury that has bothered him for an unspecified period.
The injury could be one reason why many of Arenado’s offensive numbers are at lower levels than he’s used to thus far this season. For the season, Arenado is hitting .257 with six home runs and 32 RBIs.
Ryan Helsley Record
Closer Helsley has converted 26 straight saves, extending his franchise record.
Those saves are tied for the 3rd most in Cardinals history before the All-Star break, behind only Trevor Rosenthal’s 28 in 2014 and Lee Smith, with the franchise record of 30 in 1993.
St. Louis is 36-0 when leading after eight innings this season and 32-2 when leading after seven.
Andre Pallante for Wednesday
It’s converted reliever Pallante on the mound Wednesday. Pallante (3-3) picked up the win over the Giants last Thursday, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks over 5.1 innings while striking out five.
Pallante cruised through the first two innings before failing to retire four of the first five batters he faced in the third, leading to three runs coming home for San Francisco.
The right-hander would get knocked around for another two runs in the sixth, marking the second time in his last four that he’s coughed up at least five runs.
Pallante also matched his season high with three walks and failed to make it through six innings for the fourth consecutive outing. Despite those struggles, he’s now won three of his last five starts.
Pallante’s season ERA is up to 5.23, accompanied by a WHIP of 1.62. His strikeout rate remains modest at 7.2 K/9, and with a high BABIP of .347, it’s clear that luck hasn’t been on his side either.
Pallante has a record of 0-1 with an ERA of 12.15 in 6.2 innings of relief vs. the Braves in his career.
^Betting Braves at Cardinals MLB Odds
When: Wednesday, 7:15 PM ET
Where: Busch Stadium
Pitchers (away/home): Chris Sale/Andre Pallante
TV: MLB Extra Innings
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Tonight’s game has been postponed due to rain and rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader tomorrow, June 26th.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 26, 2024
– Game 1 (the rescheduled game from tonight) will be at 1:45 PM ET
– Game 2 (the originally scheduled game) will remain at 7:15 PM ET
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