After a 7-game road trip the Atlanta Braves return home tonight to Truist Park to open a 3-game set with the Cleveland Guardians. Both the Braves and the Guardians sit atop of their respected divisions, Cleveland in the AL Central and Atlanta in the NL East. Atlanta usually gets the better of Cleveland, winning 4 straight and 6 of the last 7. The trend should continue tonight. The Braves’ expected starter, Bryce Elder, is off to a stellar start, coming in at 1-1 with an ERA of 0.00 (that is not a typo) and a WHIP of only 0.85. The Guardians are expected to counter with Slade Cecconi and the Braves hot bats should be able to get to him. Cecconi is 0-1 with an elevated 5.23 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Atlanta averages 5.1 runs per game which is 6th in the league in runs scored with Cleveland averaging 3.5 which ranks 23rd. The Braves also have the edge in batting average, hits, homers, and have the lowest team ERA in the majors at 2.04.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES