Atlanta Braves vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, 9/2/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Atlanta Braves vs Boston Red Sox

Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Location: Fenway Park in Boston, MA

TV: NESN/FSSE

Odds/Point Spread: Braves (-145) Red Sox (+134)

Marcell Ozuna and the Atlanta Braves (20-14, 1st in NL East) go to Fenway Park on Wednesday where they'll take on the Boston Red Sox (12-23, 5th in AL East). The Red Sox open this contest at +134 while the Braves are priced at -145. The total is set at 10.5. The expected starting pitchers are Robbie Erlin and Martin Perez.

Key Atlanta Braves Injuries

8/30/2020 Ronald Acuna RF Hamstring Probable for Sep 1
8/28/2020 Ozzie Albies 2B Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
8/28/2020 Cole Hamels SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/27/2020 Mike Soroka SP Achilles Out for the season
7/21/2020 Jacob Webb RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
7/21/2020 Phil Pfeifer RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
6/26/2020 Jeremy Walker RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

8/31/2020 Martin Perez SP Finger Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/31/2020 Darwinzon Hernandez RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
8/31/2020 J.D DH Hand Probable for Sep 1
8/29/2020 Nathan Eovaldi SP Calf Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
8/28/2020 Andrew Benintendi LF Ribs Expected to be out until at least Sep 16
8/1/2020 Eduardo Rodriguez SP Illness Out for the season
7/7/2020 Dustin Pedroia 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
6/28/2020 Chris Sale SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Braves have a 20-14 overall record this season. Erlin (13-20 career record) sits with a FIP of 3.79 while he has gone up against 1,398 opposing batters in the major leagues. His ERA is 4.65 (173 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.269. He has given up 357 base hits (9.6 hits per nine innings) and has 68 walks. Erlin has taken the mound for 335 innings and has racked up 273 strikeouts in his pro baseball career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.22 and they have given up 128 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .205 against the bullpen and they've struck out 153 hitters and walked 51 batters. As a team, Atlanta allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.32. The Braves pitchers collectively have given up 262 base hits and 140 earned runs. They have allowed 41 home runs this season, ranking them 23rd in the league. Atlanta as a pitching staff has walked 121 batters and struck out 278. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.6 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.31 and their FIP as a unit is 4.53.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Atlanta is hitting .260, good for 6th in the league. The Braves hold a .455 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .329, which is good for 12th in baseball. They rank 7th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Marcell Ozuna is hitting .282 with an on-base percentage of .375. He has 35 hits this season in 124 at bats with 23 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .532 and an OPS+ of 137. Nick Markakis is hitting .368 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .429. He has totaled 21 hits and he has driven in 11 men in 57 at bats. His OPS+ is 168 while his slugging percentage is at .596. The Braves have 299 hits, including 76 doubles and 48 home runs. Atlanta has walked 113 times so far this season and they have struck out 335 times as a unit. They have left 228 men on base and have a team OPS of .785. They score 5.15 runs per contest and have scored a total of 175 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Boston has a 12-23 overall mark this year. So far in his MLB career, Perez has conceded 1,070 base knocks while he has accumulated 621 punchouts in 962 innings pitched. He has allowed 504 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.478 and having a FIP of 4.6. His strikeout to walk ratio is 1.76 and he has faced 4,199 opposing hitters so far in his career. Perez (55-60 career win-loss mark) has a 4.72 ERA and has allowed 10.0 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.28 and they have given up 180 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .240 against the Red Sox bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 184 batters and walked 75 opposing hitters. As a team, Boston allows 10.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 30th in the league in team earned run average at 6.04. The Red Sox pitchers as a team have surrendered 354 base knocks and 205 earned runs this season. They have given up 58 home runs this year, which ranks 2nd in Major League Baseball. Boston as a staff has walked 146 hitters and struck out 300 batters. They give up a walk 4.3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.64 while their FIP as a staff is 5.24.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .257, good for 9th in the league. The Red Sox hold a .434 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .319, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 6th in MLB with 8.9 hits per contest. Rafael Devers comes into this matchup batting .248 with an OBP of .296. He has 33 hits this year along with 20 RBI in 133 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .459 with an OPS+ of 98. Jackie Bradley Jr is hitting .245 this season and he has an OBP of .310. He has collected 25 hits in 102 at bats while driving in 11 runs. He has an OPS+ of 78 and a slugging percentage of .353. The Red Sox as a unit have 310 base hits, including 73 doubles and 43 homers. Boston has walked 100 times this year and they have struck out on 313 occasions. They have had 232 men left on base and have an OPS of .753. They have scored 4.63 runs per game and totaled 162 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Braves/Red Sox MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Red Sox (+134)

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