Atlanta’s Rotation Should Dominate The Giants
Giants vs Braves Preview: Some Fun Pitching Matchups This Week
This season hasn’t gone as the Atlanta Braves expected it to. While they’re 46-36, the Braves haven’t performed very well offensively. As a result, the Braves are not at the top of the MLB standings in 2024.
Their starting rotation ultimately saved them. Against the San Francisco Giants this week, the rotation will likely have to save them again.
Not only do the Braves have a quality pitching staff, but so do the Giants. Although San Francisco is 41-44 on the season, it’s still fighting for an NL Wild Card playoff spot.
The Braves are massive favorites in Game 1 of the series. They’re -196, with the total currently at 8.5. However, the Over is more likely at -122.
The other two games in this series should have tighter lines and a lower total.
Here’s our Giants vs Braves preview for this mid-week three-game series.
San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves 
Day/Time:
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
Streaming: Bally Sports South, NBCS BA
Landen Roupp Recalled
Yesterday, the Giants announced they’d recalled Landen Roupp and sent down Spencer Howard. Eventually, Kyle Harrison will return to the starting rotation. But right now, the Giants felt like they needed someone who could eat some innings down the line.
Roupp is that guy for now.
He won’t help San Francisco’s MLB odds to win the World Series. But he’ll give them depth.
Remember Ian Anderson?
Ian Anderson, the third overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, started his third rehab with the Augusta GreenJackets on Sunday.
In that start, he went three innings and allowed just one hit with no runs. Anderson also struck out just one batter and walked one as well.
There is no rush to get Anderson back into the rotation right now. Anderson was optioned to Triple-A even before the season after his Tommy John surgery in early 2023. However, he was a significant addition to the MLB pipeline for the Braves in 2016.
Giants vs Braves Preview & Odds For Game 1:
RL: Braves -1.5 (+106)Â ML: Braves –196, O/U: 8.5 -122/+100
âš¾ Game 1 âš¾
Tuesday, 7:20 pm ET
Hayden Birdsong vs. Reynaldo Lopez
The Giants will send out Hayden Birdsong for the opener. He’s only thrown in one game this season and couldn’t even get through five innings. His WHIP extended to 1.93, but he still struck out five batters in under five innings.
Birdsong could potentially strike out lefties at a high rate, but he also allowed a .273 ISO and wOBA of .455 with 8.3% of strikeouts against righties to begin his time with the Giants.
Against righties, the Braves have been getting good hitting from Jarred Kelenic, Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley, and Sean Murphy. You’d like to see Matt Olson get going, but the rest of the lineup is coming around.
The Atlanta Braves will counter with Reynaldo Lopez, who has been one of the biggest surprises this season. The right-handed pitcher has a 1.70 ERA with the Braves this season. Over the last month, he’s held teams to a .099 ISO and wOBA of .277 with nearly 29% of strikeouts and only 7.8% of walks.
Ultimately, the Giants have hit a solid wOBA against righties, including high numbers from Jorge Soler, Austin Slater, Luis Matos, and David Villar. They’re just not getting good production from their left-handed bats against righties other than Mike Yastrzemski.
Don’t expect high production against Lopez, either. We’ll take the Braves on the runline at -1.5 (+106). Lopez should hold it down, but it’s hard to trust Birdsong.
âš¾ Game 2 âš¾
Wednesday, 7:20 pm ET
Jordan Hicks vs. Chris Sale
In the second matchup, Jordan Hicks will get the call. He’s a righty who has allowed a .159 ISO and wOBA of .385 to his last 105 batters. Hicks is getting high strikeouts against righties but has also walked 22% of lefties as a right-handed starter.
Hicks has been all over the place lately. But the most consistent number has been his high wOBA, which has been bad against both sides of the plate.
He’ll face Chris Sale, who has resurrected his career. The All-Star lefty has earned nearly 34% of strikeouts over the last 30 days. He’s also limited teams to a .300 wOBA, thanks to a 50.7% ground ball rate over the last 30 days.
Against lefties, the San Francisco Giants‘ projected lineup has hit a .141 ISO and wOBA of .369 over the last 30 days. The lineup will likely only have right-handed batters in it. Those righties have also been patient, with 11% of walks over the last 30 days against lefties.
Hicks has been just a bit more inconsistent than Sale this year. We’ll take the Braves at home in Game 2.
âš¾ Game 3 âš¾
Thursday, 7:20 pm ET
Logan Webb vs. Charlie Morton
In the finale, Logan Webb will take the hill. Webb is San Francisco’s ace. He’s got a 3.12 ERA and has held his last 158 batters to a .113 ISO and wOBA of .284.
Additionally, Webb has induced 61.5% of ground balls and has limited teams to a .17.1% line drive rate over the last month. While his strikeouts aren’t high, he’s still held teams to 3.2% of walks. He’s the best pitcher the Giants have.
Webb will duel Charlie Morton of the Braves. Morton is a veteran righty who also has an ERA below 4. Morton has recently held batters to a .112 ISO and wOBA of .286 despite his 11% walk rate. Morton has ultimately added 23.7% of strikeouts and has issued 50% of ground balls over the last 30 days to keep his wOBA down.
We’ll likely get a low-scoring game in this final game of the Giants vs Braves preview.
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