National League division leaders clash when the Giants and Braves commence a three-game series down in Georgia Friday night. Lefty Max Fried, who’s been great lately, takes the pill for the home team here against Kevin Glausman for the visitors. Who do we like here for our free baseball betting pick?
MLB Betting Odds
Friday’s odds board opened Atlanta at around -120 over San Francisco, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action then dipped that total to eight.
Giants-Braves MLB Betting Preview
San Francisco just swept three games at the Mets by scores of 8-0, 3-2, and 3-2. Just before that, the Giants won two of three games at Oakland, and just before that, they took two of three from the Mets. Going back a bit further, San Francisco is 9-0 over its last nine series and 22-7 over its previous 29 games.
At 83-44 overall, the best record in baseball, the Giants are shoo-ins for the playoffs. But they only lead the NL West by 2.5 games over the second-place Dodgers, and they’d certainly rather win the division than play in a wild-card game.
Meanwhile, Atlanta just lost two games to the Yankees by 5-1 and 5-4. The Braves then had Wednesday’s game rained out, then had Thursday off.
Just before that, Atlanta swept three games in Baltimore; just before that, they swept three games in Miami; and just before that, they swept three games in Washington. Going back a bit further, the Braves are 6-1 over their last seven series and 16-4 over their last 20 games.
At 68-58 overall, Atlanta, after struggling through a good part of this season, now leads the NL East by 5.5 games over second-place Philadelphia.
This is the first meeting between these two teams this season.
Friday’s Pitching Match-Up
By our strict standards, Lefty Fried is 8/21 on quality starts this season and working on a run of five in a row. Last Friday, he tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout in a 3-0 Atlanta victory over Baltimore, and over his previous five starts, he’s allowed just five runs – four earned – and 25 hits, including just one home run, through 34 innings.
The Braves are 12-9 with Fried this season, 5-0 over his last five starts.
Over two career starts against San Francisco, both back in 2019, Fried gave up just two runs through 11 1/3 innings. Atlanta won both those games.
Former Brave Glausman is an impressive 15/25 on quality starts this year but only one for his last seven. Last Saturday, he gave up five runs, although only two were earned, and six hits through 3 2/3 innings, but got lucky when the Giants rallied to beat Oakland 6-5. And over his last seven starts, he’s allowed 18 ER on 37 hits and 16 walks through 31 1/3 innings.
San Francisco is 17-8 with Glausman this year, and while they’re 5-2 over his last seven outings, he can’t take too much of the credit for that.
This will be Glausman’s first start against the Braves since 2015 when he was with the Orioles, and that’s like a lifetime ago.
Splits With the Sticks
San Francisco is batting .246 against left-handed pitching this season, with a .331 team OBP and a .417 team slugging percentage.
Atlanta is slashing .243/.327/.432 against right-handed pitching.
Both these teams are playing without a couple of regular sticks – Belt and Posey for the Giants, Acuna, and Ozuna for the Braves.
- Get more details: Giants vs. Braves 8/27/21 Game Matchup Stats
The Bullpens
The Giants bullpen owns a 3.08 ERA this season, which ranks No. 2 in the Majors, along with a 1.07 WHIP, which ranks No. 1, and a 3.18 K/BB ratio, which also ranks No. 2.
The Braves pen owns a 4.28 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and a 2.52 K/BB ratio.
MLB Betting Trends
- The Giants are 41-25 on the road this season.
- The Braves are 31-31 at home.
- The Giants are 23-16 against left-handed starters this season.
- The Braves are 46-44 against right-handed starters.
Totals Report
Under are 66-57 in Giants games this season.
Overs are 61-56 in Braves games.
Overs are a combined 24-20 with Fried and Glassman this season.
Overs are 34-23 in games played Truist Park this season.
