Houston Astros vs Atlanta Braves Prediction, 8/21/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Atlanta Braves

Date: Sunday, August 21, 2022

Location: Truist Park in Cumberland, GA

TV: Bally Sports South

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+120) Atlanta (-140)

Truist Park is the location where the Atlanta Braves (74-47) will attempt to defeat the Houston Astros (77-44) on Sunday. The odds on this game have the Astros at +120 while the Braves are opening at -140. The total is 8.5. The men taking the mound are Jose Urquidy and Charlie Morton.

Houston has a slugging % of .427 and have been called out on strikes 887 times, while drawing a walk on 407 occasions. They have accrued 541 runs batted in as well as 994 hits this year, and their batting average sits at .246. The Astros have earned 215 two-baggers as a team and have hit 165 balls out of the park. They have a total of 556 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .319. As a team, the Houston Astros are knocking in 4.6 runs per game, which puts them at 7th in baseball.

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Astros pitchers have given up 102 long balls in addition to 405 runs (2nd in the league). They have walked 347 opposing batters and their FIP is 3.47 as a squad on the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 3.11 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.12. The Astros have an earned run average of 3.08 on the campaign (2nd in MLB), and the staff has struck out 1,078 hitters.

The Astros have dispatched 349 relief pitchers to the mound for the year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 117 base runners on the campaign with 30.8% of those players crossed the plate. They have 35 saves over the course of the season and have blown 12 out of their 47 save opportunities. The Astros relievers have compiled a save rate of 74.5% and has entered the game in 118 save situations. The bullpen have tallied 71 holds this season (9th in MLB). Astros pitchers have come into the game with runners on 77 times and also have had 112 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Astros have converted 71.9% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 9,636 innings, which has them sitting at 3rd in baseball. The Houston Astros have a total of 3,212 putouts thus far, in addition to 940 assists and 56 errors. Their fielding rate is holding steady at .987 which has them ranked 10th in professional baseball, and have a total of 94 double plays.

Urquidy (22-9 career mark) holds a FIP of 4.23 and he has gone up against 1,231 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues. He has allowed 266 base knocks (7.9 hits per nine innings) and has had 60 free passes. His ERA is 3.60 (122 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.070. Urquidy has taken the ball for 304 innings and has earned 245 punch outs during his career.

The Braves have a team slugging % of .446 and they are scoring 4.88 runs per contest (3rd in the league). They have put up 227 doubles, while walking 349 times as well as scoring 591 runs. Atlanta has a total of 184 home runs over the course of the season to go along with 563 RBIs. They have been called out on strikes on 1,119 occasions (2nd in MLB) and have earned a total of 1,042 hits. The Atlanta Braves are sitting with a team OBP of .317 as well as a team batting average of .253 over the course of the season.

The Braves are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.221 in addition to having a FIP of 3.46 as a pitching staff on the campaign. They come in at 10th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 943. The Atlanta pitching staff have surrendered 474 runs for the year while holding a team ERA of 3.60 (433 earned runs relinquished). Their strikeout to walk ratio is 3.03 (1,152 strikeouts vs 380 walks). They have allowed 106 dingers and they relinquish 3.94 runs per 9 innings (7th in baseball).

Atlanta has had bullpen pitchers step onto the mound in 64 save chances and they have come away with 42 saves. They rank 14th in baseball with a save rate of 65.6%, and they have dispatched 378 relievers to the hill so far this season. Their relief pitchers have come in 131 times in high leverage situations in addition to 105 occasions with base runners. Atlanta relievers have an inherited score rate of 33.5% out of their 155 inherited runners. With 141 save situations, the Braves have amassed 74 holds and also 22 blown saves.

In their 9,750 innings on the field, the Braves have a efficiency on defense of 69.4% (20th in pro baseball). The Atlanta Braves have turned 86 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .987 (7th in the majors). The Braves have recorded 1,051 assists, 55 errors and have accounted for 3,250 putouts for the year.

During his career, Morton has allowed 1,645 hits and he has 1,645 punch outs in 1,754 innings pitched. He has conceded 780 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.292 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.7. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.65 and he has gone up against 7,495 opposing hitters during his career. Morton (113-100 record in his career) holds a 4.00 earned run average while conceding 8.4 hits per nine innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston (+120)

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