The second of a three-game series will be played Wednesday night when the Arizona Diamondbacks (8-9) travel to SunTrust Park to take on the Atlanta Braves (9-7). In the first game, Arizona won a slugfest, 9-6. Yoshihisa Hirano picked up the win in relief while Greg Holland picked up the save for the Diamondbacks. Christian Walker, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies all homered in the game.
In Wednesday’s contest, the Diamondbacks will send out righty Zack Godley (1-1, 7.41 ERA) to take the bump to square off with Kevin Gausman (1-1, 2.84 ERA) of the Braves. First pitch of this contest is scheduled for 7:20 pm ET.
The moneyline for Wednesday’s game is set at the Arizona Diamondbacks +135 and the Atlanta Braves -155. The over/under for runs scored is set at 9.
Arizona Hopes For Better Outing From Godley
In his last outing, Zack Godley was cruising, going 5 innings and giving up just one run. Then the fifth inning hit and the wheels came off, as he gave up 5 runs. He ended the game — a 7-6 loss to the San Diego Padres — going 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, 2 home runs and striking out 8.
On the season, Godley is 1-1 with a 7.41 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and is allowing opponents to hit .266 against him. In 17 innings, he has allowed 17 hits, 14 earned runs, 4 home runs and has struck out 16 while walking 8. Arizona comes in 27th in the majors in team earned run average from their pitching staff and could use a good outing from Godley.
On the offensive side, Christian Walker has been a ton this season. After homering Tuesday, Walker is now hitting .294/.368/.667 with a 1.035 OPS. He has 5 home runs, 4 doubles, 9 runs batted in and 10 runs scored. In 51 at-bats, he has 15 strikeouts versus 6 walks.
The most consistent hitter for the Diamondbacks, though, has been David Peralta. He currently is hitting .371/.413/.586 with 2 home runs, 9 doubles, 10 runs batted in and 11 runs scored. As a team, the Diamondbacks rank 9th in runs per game (5.44), just behind the Braves (5.47). Still, with the way that their pitching staff has performed, they consistently need those crooked numbers on the scoreboard to win games.
Atlanta Looking To Even Series
After allowing 9 runs on Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves turn to Kevin Gausman to try to get the win in the second game of the series. On the season, Gausman is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and is allowing opponents to hit just .150 against him. In 12.2 innings, he has allowed 6 hits, 4 earned runs, 1 home run, 5 walks and has struck out 12.
While Gausman has struggled with control at times, his fastball at the top of the zone and splitter down have been a lethal combination this season. In his last outing, he did struggle a bit as he went 5.2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 walks, 4 earned runs and struck out 5. Especially after the bullpen blew up a little on Tuesday, the Braves will be hoping for a deep outing from Gausman.
The Braves have been solid offensively. They currently rank 6th in batting average at .270 (Arizona comes in at 4th at .271) and are especially disciplined at the plate (they average 5.13 walks per game, 2nd in the majors).
Leading the way for the Braves this season is the trio of Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. Albies is hitting .333/.397/.500 with 2 home runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple and 11 runs scored while Freeman is hitting .333/.459/.483 with a home run, 8 runs batted in and 15 runs scored.
Acuna Jr. is leading the way in most categories, though. He is hitting .327/.464/.709 with 6 home runs, 14 runs batted in, 15 runs scored and 2 stolen bases. He has also walked 13 times while striking out 13. Between this trio and the likes of Josh Donaldson, Nick Markakis and others, Atlanta has a deep offense that is capable of putting runs up in a hurry.
Series Even After Two
Both of these teams can hit, but I like the Braves a little bit better in this one. Yes, the Braves bullpen seemed a little suspect Tuesday, giving up 7 runs, but this one is about the starters for me. Gausman has better stuff than Godley, and early results have shown that.
I do think runs will be put up by both teams, but I think that the Braves’ offense will do a little more damage against Godley than the Diamondbacks against Gausman. It could be a close one, but for my money, I am going to take the Braves at -155.