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Atlanta Braves vs Chicago Cubs Prediction & Best Bets (8/4)
Written by: Eddie Griffin
Last Updated:
Read Time: 4 minutes
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Through the first four months of the MLB season, the Atlanta Braves have compiled the league’s best record, despite being without two of the NL’s best pitchers for much of the season.
Today, one of those standout starters will make his return. Star southpaw Max Fried will get the ball for the series opener against the Chicago Cubs (2:20 pm ET, MLB Network for out-of-market viewers).
Early on this season, Fried was one of the leading NL Cy Young Award favorites. In his first four starts, he allowed just one run, 14 hits, and four walks.
However, the 29-year-old hasn’t pitched since May 5 due to a left forearm strain. Getting him back is better than any move that Atlanta could have made at the trade deadline.
However, Fried will immediately step into a stiff challenge, as the Cubs have been one of the hottest teams in baseball in recent weeks.
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Atlanta Braves vs Chicago Cubs Odds
Odds are via Bovada.
Moneyline
- Atlanta Braves -167
- Chicago Cubs +139
Over/Under
- Over 8.5 (-105)
- Under 8.5 (-115)
Run Line
- Atlanta Braves -1.5 (-105)
- Chicago Cubs +1.5 (-115)
Pitching Matchup for Braves vs Cubs
- Atlanta Braves: LHP Max Fried (5 starts, 2-1, 2.08 ERA)
- Chicago Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (13 starts, 4-5, 3.49 ERA)
Can the Cubs Reverse a Recent Trend?
Over the last few weeks, things have been mostly magnificent for the Cubbies.
On July 17, they dropped to 43-50 with a loss to the Washington Nationals. With 13 wins in 16 games, the Cubs are now three games over .500. Entering today’s MLB action, they are two games out of the last NL wild-card spot and 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
In their 13-3 run, two of the three losses are in series openers at home. Good starts haven’t been a frequent occurrence for the Cubs at home as of late. They have dropped the opener in five of their last six series at Wrigley Field.
Will we see a reversal of that trend against the Braves? For the season, the Braves are 11-6 in road series openers. But they are just 4-5 in that scenario after starting 7-1 this season.
Both the Braves and Cubs are better against lefties, so the Cubs might have a bit of an advantage with Fried freshly back in the big leagues.
In games started by LHP, the Cubs are hitting 34 points higher (.281 to .247) than they do in games started by RHP. Also, in games started by LHP, they average more than a run more (5.89 to 4.78) than they do in games started by RHP.
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Atlanta Braves vs Chicago Cubs Prediction and Best Bets
Braves vs Cubs Best Bet: Braves -1.5 (-105 at Bovada)
This isn’t a bad matchup for the Cubs, but there is something to keep in mind for a series that consists of three games that start at 2:20 pm ET.
Entering this series, the Braves are 25-10 (.714) in day games, while the Cubs are just 21-26 (.447).
Also, the Braves are likely to be favored in all three games of this series. For the season, they are 25-14 (.647) when favored on the road, while the Cubs are just 9-11 (.450) as a home underdog.
Last but not least, of the Braves’ 69 wins this season, 53 (76.8%) have come by multiple runs, including each of their last ten wins.
There isn’t any value with the moneyline here, but there’s some solid value with the RL with a number of trends in Atlanta’s favor.
Where to Bet on MLB
Many of the top online sportsbooks offer a wide variety of MLB odds throughout the season. In addition to being able to make daily MLB picks on games from Opening Day until the final game of the Fall Classic, you can also bet on the other major awards (MLB MVP, Cy Young Award, and MLB Rookie of the Year) and World Series odds.
Along with Bovada, where the Braves vs Cubs odds in this article came from, there are plenty of sports betting sites you can choose from that are good for MLB betting. The above books are some of the others that we highly recommend.
If you don’t have an account at a book on this list, check out our reviews to help you determine if it is worth your interest and your betting funds.
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