Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /Sipa USA

Philadelphia Phillies vs Atlanta Braves: An NL East classic

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves are opening their series today at Truist Park.

The Phillies are the best team in the NL

The Philadelphia Phillies are on top of the NL East with the best record in the MLB, 73-51, including 31-28 on the road. After winning four consecutive games, the Phillies lost 6-4 to the Washington Nationals in their last one. The Phillies have a 3.72 ERA, a .235 batting average, a .299 on-base percentage, and 1.20 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Alec Bohm leads the team with 140 hits, Kyle Schwarber is on top with 84 runs, and 28 home runs.

Can the Braves catch the Phillies?

The Atlanta Braves are second in the NL East with a 66-58 record including 32-26 at home. They have won 5 of their last 7 games and are coming off a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The Braves have a 3.71 ERA, a .240 batting average, a .307 on-base percentage, and 1.23 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Marcell Ozuna is the best player on the team, with 144 hits, 79 runs, and 36 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Braves 5-2 SU in their last 7 games overall, 0-5 SU in their last 5 games at home and 14-6 SU in their last 20 games played on Tuesday. Atlanta has played under the total run line in 5 of their last 7 games overall and 5 of their last 6 games against teams from the NL East while they have gone over in 8 of their last 12 games against Philadelphia and 7 of their last 10 games against teams from the NL. The Phillies are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games overall, 2-4 SU in their last 6 games against the Braves, 6-12 SU in their last 18 games on the road and 4-2 SU in their last 6 games against teams from the NL. Philadelphia has played under the total run line in 10 of their last 13 games played on Tuesday and 6 of their last 7 Tuesday games on the road.

Prediction and Conclusion

The NL East rivlas have promosing seasons, and the Braves are still in chance for the Phillies as they are 7 games behind them. That fact makes this series highly important for the Braves, who allowed only one run in their last two games against the Phillies. The Braves will go with Reynaldo Lopez, who is 7-4 for the season with a 2.06 ERA, 102 K, 104.2 IP, and 1.19 WHIP. The Phillies will try to match that up with Zack Wheeler on the mound, who is 12-5 for the season with a 2.72 ERA, 162 K, 148.2 IP, and 0.98 WHIP. The stakes are high tonight, and both coaches are going with some of their best pitchers to open up the series. The last two games between the two ended under the total run line, so we go with under 8 runs in this game.