Braves-Giants prediction: Picks, odds on Sunday, August 27

The Atlanta Braves (84-44) and San Francisco Giants (66-63) will wrap up their three-game weekend series tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Rookie Jared Shuster (4-2, 5.00 ERA) will start for the Braves while rookie reliever Tristan Beck (3-2, 3.34 ERA) will make his first career start in what could be another bullpen day for the Giants.

Atlanta is going for the series sweep in San Fran this evening after comfortably taking the first two games this weekend. Max Fried delivered a strong six innings on the mound in yesterday’s victory while Matt Olson came up big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBI. Meanwhile, San Francisco’s August struggles have continued as it has now dropped four of its last five ballgames. The Giants managed to tie last night’s ballgame with a Wilmer Flores two-run homer in the third, but quickly fell back into a hole. The team now sits 1.5 games back of the Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card spots and needs a win tonight to keep pace.

The Braves enter the game as a -142 favorite on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, making the Giants +120 underdogs. The total is set at 10.

Braves-Giants picks: Sunday, August 27

Injury report

Braves

Out: 2B Ozzie Albies (hamstring), SP Kyle Wright (shoulder), SP Kolby Allard (shoulder), RP Nick Anderson (shoulder), RP Yonny Chirinos (elbow), RP Jesse Chavez (shin), RP Dylan Lee (shoulder), RP Daysbel Hernandez (forearm), SS Ehire Adrianza (elbow)

Giants

Out: SS Brandon Crawford (forearm), OF Michael Conforto (hamstring), SP Ross Stripling (back), OF Mitch Haniger (forearm), SP Antony DeSclafani (elbow), SS Marco Luciano (hamstring), OF Mike Yastrzemski (hamstring), RP John Brebbia (hand), OF AJ Pollock (oblique)

Starting pitchers

Jared Shuster vs. Tristan Beck

Shuster was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett this past week and is making his first start for the big league squad since June 24. He posted a handful of decent starts for the Braves in May and June, but a subpar performance against the Reds where he gave up four earned runs in 3.2 innings got him shipped back down to the Minors. Major League cleanup hitters were batting .435 with two home runs and 10 RBI prior to him being sent down, so he’ll need to find his command against the likes of Joc Pederson tonight.

Beck will open for the Giants this evening as the team will presumably lean on several arms to carry them through the ballgame. He actually held his own against this same Braves lineup last Sunday, yielding just two hits in three innings of work out of the bullpen. He has a 4.33 ERA at home this season, so he’ll need to step up and improve those numbers this evening.

Over/Under pick

With two rookie pitchers on the mound and the Giants most likely cycling through arms tonight, both teams have a chance to push across their fair share of runs in this one. Hammer the over at Oracle Park this evening.

Pick: Over 10

Moneyline pick

San Francisco has fallen victim to elite pitching this weekend and if there’s an opportunity to prevent a sweep, then its tonight’s series finale. The Giants were in this same exact position against the Braves last Sunday and ultimately squeaked out a 4-3 win in Atlanta. In a high-scoring affair, I think they can do the same tonight.