Boston Red Sox vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction 7-26-23 MLB Picks
The Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox meet in the final game of their two-game interleague series in MLB action from Fenway Park on Wednesday. Can the Braves salvage a split? Or will the Red Sox get a much-needed confidence boost from a sweep? Let’s dive in and find out.
Braves Get Chopped On Tuesday
The Atlanta Braves were riding fairly high coming into the series against Boston, fresh off of their series win over the Brewers but those vibes were stopped quicker than a hiccup on Tuesday with the Red Sox downing Atlanta 7-1, getting to Charlie Morton early and often in the early innings and Atlanta simply had no answer. The loss dropped the Braves to 64-35 on the year, but they’re still 11 games clear of 2nd in the NL East ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. In July, Atlanta sits 17th in batting average (.243), 7th in team OPS (.787) and 1st in ISO (.236). Ronald Acuna Jr. leads the Braves with 131 hits and a .328 batting average along with 48 stolen bases to lead MLB in that category. Acuna Jr. also has 23 homers and 58 RBIs while Matt Olson leads the Braves with 32 home runs and 80 RBIs this season. Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley make up the other two Braves bats with 20+ HR so far this season. Spencer Strider will start for the Braves here and is 11-3 with a 3.78 ERA and 189 strikeouts this season.
Atlanta Braves Team Facts
- The Braves have won each of their last seven games following a road loss.
- The Braves have failed to cover the run line each of their last eight Wednesday night games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
- The Braves have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four games as favourites against AL East opponents.
- The Braves have trailed after 7 innings in three of their last four games as favourites against AL East opponents.
Atlanta Braves Player Prop Facts
- Ronald Acuna Jr. ranks 1st in the league in Steals (48) this season.
Red Sox Deliver Beantown Beating
The Red Sox needed that win over Atlanta on Tuesday as Boston is far from the kind of spot that Atlanta finds themselves in. Boston’s win on Tuesday puts the Red Sox at 54-47 on the year, 8 games back of the Orioles in the AL East and 1.5 games back of Toronto in the AL Wild Card race for the final spot in the playoffs. In the month of July so far, Boston ranks 1st in batting average (.298), 1st in team OPS (.859) and 5th in ISO (.207). Masataka Yoshida leads the Red Sox with 110 hits and a .320 batting average while Rafael Devers has 24 home runs and 75 RBIs to lead the BoSox in both categories this season. Justin Turner’s contributed 16 home runs and 64 RBIs while Jarren Duran has pitched in a team-leading 29 doubles this season. Brayan Bello is tabbed to get the start for Boston here and is 7-6 with a 3.60 ERA and 78 strikeouts this season.
Boston Red Sox Team Facts
- The Red Sox have won each of their last 11 games following a home win.
- The Red Sox have covered the run line in each of their last eight night games against NL East opponents following a home win.
- The 'Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Red Sox's last eight games as underdogs.
- The Red Sox have led after 3 innings in each of their last five games as underdogs.
- The Red Sox have led after 7 innings in each of their last six home night games.
Boston Red Sox Player Prop Facts
- Masataka Yoshida ranks 4th amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.320) this season.
Chris’ Pick
If Bello hadn’t been in poor form coming into this start, it may have been much easier for me to make a case for Boston, but I can’t back a guy like Bello who just gave up 6 runs to one of the worst offenses in baseball, in the Oakland A’s, including 3 home runs in that start as well. Bello doesn’t rely on strikeouts for his outs, he’s a contact pitcher, and that’s not where you want to be against a Braves team that’s demolished righties for the better part of the last two months. Strider’s still one of the top pitchers in the game and I look for him to deliver here. Give me the Braves.
