Braves to Edge Phillies in Matchup of Top Teams in MLB

Atlanta has won six of the last seven meetings with Philadelphia and the Braves were favored in 11 of the previous 12 meetings.

Starting Pitchers

Zack Wheeler (11-6, 3.70 ERA) vs. Kyle Wright (0-2, 7.48)

Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler allowed seven hits, three home runs and six runs in five innings in an extra-inning loss to the Braves last week.

That outing followed up a game when Wheeler surrendered one hit and no runs in six innings against the San Diego Padres.

Wheeler is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings in two starts against the Braves this season.

Wright allowed six hits and six runs in three innings against the Phillies on Sept. 11 in his first appearance since May 3.

Wright is winless in six appearances this season.

When looking at the MLB picks for Sept. 18, Atlanta is favored to keep on rolling against its division rival.

Phillies vs Braves Odds

Olson, Schwarber Could Be Best MLB Prop Bets

Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies leads the majors with 17 runs and is tied for second behind Atlanta’s Matt Olson for the most home runs in the majors in September. Take a look at the +290 odds for Olson to hit a home run on Monday and the +330 moneyline according to the sportsbook for Schwarber to do the same.

Both teams are coming off losses on Sunday, although the games couldn’t have played out differently.

The Braves allowed four home runs and six extra-base hits as Miami completed a three-game sweep in a 16-2 victory. Atlanta allowed 36 runs in the three losses to Miami. The 16 runs are the most allowed by Atlanta since a 16-13 loss to Arizona on July 18. That was during a stretch when Atlanta lost seven of 10 games.

Philadelphia rallied to tie Sunday’s game at 5-5 with St. Louis on a solo home run by Alec Bohm and a two-run single by Nick Castellanos before Jordan Walker’s home run in the bottom of the eighth put St. Louis back in front.

 

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The Phillies had two runners on in the ninth inning before J.T. Realmuto struck out and Johan Rojas flew out as Philadelphia fell to 24-22 in one-run games this season.

Atlanta is 20 games over .500 when games finish over the total this season while just 67 of Philadelphia’s games have gone over the total.

The 9½-run total is the highest among Monday’s games so it might make the most sense to go with the under.

MLB Pick: Under 9½ (-120)

Success By Road Team Might Come To An End

The road team has won seven of the last nine games between Philadelphia and Atlanta.

When looking at the MLB odds, the Phillies are just 15-16 against the run line as the road underdog with Atlanta 35-35 as the home favorite.

Atlanta still has a 4½-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the best record in the National League and seven of its final 13 games against a Washington Nationals team that is in last place in the National League East. These are two MLB teams moving toward the postseason.

One of the differences between the Braves and Phillies this season is that the Braves are 52-29 versus teams with winning records while Philadelphia is 42-44 in those matchups.

Atlanta is 14-6 in its last 20 home games against Philadelphia.

When it comes to the MLB odds, Atlanta (+275) has the best odds to win the World Series. Philadelphia comes in third among National League teams at +1400.

MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-110)

Phillies vs Braves Game Information

• Game: Phillies (81-68) vs Braves (96-53)
• Date/Time: Monday, Sept. 18, 7:20 PM
• Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
• Phillies vs Braves Live Stream: MLB.tv