Atlanta Braves vs Houston Astros Prediction, Pick and Preview, August 21 (8/21): MLB

Atlanta Braves vs Houston Astros Prediction, Pick and Preview, August 21 (8/21): MLB

Credit: photo by Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

 

Odds

Time 1:35 p.m. EST
Braves money line -155
Braves run line -1.5 (+140)
Astros money line +130
Astros run line +1.5 (-165)
Over / under 8

 

Key stats

  Atlanta Braves Houston Astros
Record 75-47 77-45
Home / road record 42-23 38-27
Last 10 record 9-1 7-3
Streak W3 L2
Over / under record 60-53-8 44-69-7
Runs / game 4.89 4.48
Runs allowed / game 4.38 3.31

 

Preview

The Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves will play the 3rd game series at the Truist Park on Sunday. The Braves beat the Astros again in second game of the series. With runners at second and third and no outs, the Astros intentionally walked William Contreras. But d'Arnaud lined one past diving first baseman Yuri Gurriel to win it for the Braves 5-4.

Atlanta Braves

The Braves get here with a 75-47 record and have won 9 their last 10 games. The team is averaging 4.89 runs per game. They're batting for .252 AVG, 585 runs scored in 1030 hits and 183 home runs, ranking #3 in offense in the league behind the NY Yankees. Austin Riley is leading the team with 30 home runs and 75 RBI while Dansby Swanson has the better batting average with .292. 

Defensively they are allowing 3.97 runs per game and rank #7 in the league. Max Fried leads the pitching staff with a 2.60 ERA, 133 strikeouts and 11 wins recorded with the Braves. 

Probable Pitcher:

Charlie Morton (6-5, 4.04 ERA) will be on the mound for the Braves in the 3rd game of the series. Morton picked up the win Tuesday, scattering three hits and a walk over 6.2 scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory over the Mets. He tied his season high with 12 strikeouts. He has a 4-6 record with an ERA of 6.28 and 44 strikeouts in 11 appearances against the Astros in his career.

Houston Astros

The Astros get here with a 77-45 record and have lost 4 of their last 6 games. They're averaging 4.48 runs and batting for .246 AVG, 554 runs scored in 987 hits and 164 home runs, ranking #13 in offense in the league behind the Colorado Rockies. Yordan Alvarez leads the team batting for .303 avg with 31 home runs and 77 RBI. 

Defensively they are allowing 3.31 runs per game and ranking #2 in the league. Justin Verlander leads the pitching staff with a 1.95 ERA, 138 strikeouts and 15 wins recorded for the Astros.

Probable Pitcher:

Jose Urquidy (11-4, 3.69 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros in the 3rd game of the series. Urquidy did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing one run on six hits and zero walks over 7.2 innings in a 4-2 loss against the White Sox. He struck out four.

 

BETTING TRENDS

The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston's last 9 games on the road.

The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Houston's last 11 games when playing on the road against Atlanta.

Atlanta are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games.

The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Atlanta's last 16 games against Houston.

Atlanta are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games at home.

 

Prediction

The Braves continue to stay hot as they have won 9 of their last 10 games and have been outstanding at home this season with a 41-23 record. To close the series they'll send Charlie Morton to the mound who's coming from a strong start vs Mets where he pitched 6 scoreless innings but has struggled against the Astros in his career. Jose Urquidy will start for the Astros who's also coming from a strong start vs White Sox allowing only 1 run across 7 innings. This is a great chance for the Astros to avoid a sweep as they know how to hit Morton. Take the Astros.

PICK: Astros ML (+130)

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