Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals head to Atlanta to take on the Braves in Game 1 of the NLDS.  The last time these 2 teams faced in the playoffs was in 2012 that encountered an odd umpire in field fly rule that drove the fans crazy enough to throw all their trash onto the field. 

This should be another good game to watch.  You have Mikolas taking the mound for the Cardinals, he’s a Righty with a 4.16 ERA on the year but 3.38 in his last 3 games.  The braves tend to hit Righties a bit better than lefties. The Braves have new-comer Dallas Keuchel (lefty) coming in throwing 3.75 on the year but 6.19 in his last 3 outings.  The Cards also tend to hit a little bit better against lefties than righties. 

Overall history batting averages are similar with Atlanta having a career .234 average against Mikolas and Cardinals with a .257 average against Keuchel however facing him only 35 total times, with Goldsmidt struggling the most going only 3-18.  

The weather is expected to be in the 90’s with an average humidity level and winds slightly blowing out.  You can expect a good pitching match up but these teams like to bring the runs. One thing to note is that Atlanta has only scored 8 runs in their last 3 games and Cardinals and dolloped in 17 runs in their last 3 outings. Of course the pitching match ups were not comparable and Atlanta was resting some players but those were the numbers.   

So far out of the 2 Wild Card games, both have come under.  That may end tonight depending on where the line ends. Unders are common in playoff baseball but some teams, especially this year can put up the runs. Always keep an eye on the pitching match ups, even in the bullpen/other starters when it comes to playoffs because neither team will waste time going to another pitcher. The total opened around 8 and has already moved to 9 at most books with extra juice.  All these factors are pointing towards the Over coming in at this game but if it keeps moving up you may have already missed the bus on getting the best line at 8.  

The line movements indicates the public is mainly on Atlanta but the money is coming in consistently on both teams hovering around -140 on the favorite Atlanta, at most books.