Julio Teheran (0-0, 3.00 ERA) and the Atlanta Braves (0-3) meet Carlos Martinez (14-7, 3.01 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1-3) in the second of a three-game series at Turner Field. The Cardinals won the last game 7-4, and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 7:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 9 and will air on FSMW and FSSO.
In his most recent outing, Teheran pitched 6.0 innings, allowing two runs, striking out four and walking three in a 4-3 loss to the Nationals. Martinez takes the hill on the other side. He pitched 179.2 innings last season, going 14-7 with a 3.01 ERA 1.29 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts. Stephen Piscotty (.200 ) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run, one home run, and one RBI.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. They have been very patient at the plate, ranking fifth in the NL with an average of 4.3 walks per game.
Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the St. Louis batters, who rank second in the NL with 11.5 strikeouts per game.
The only other game between the two teams went St. Louis’s way.
Predictions: SU Winner – ATL
Notes
Atlanta has lost all of its games (0-2) when leading after seven innings. However, St. Louis has won all of its games (1-0) when taking a late lead.
The Cardinals managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Braves who are heading in with a 0-2 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
Ranking 23rd in home runs, Atlanta has hit two this season. St. Louis ranks eighth with six home runs.
Atlanta and St. Louis both rank near the bottom of the league in hits. Atlanta sits at 29th with 5.67 hits per game and St. Louis ranks 23rd with 7.00.
Atlanta ranks at the top of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage of .000. St. Louis ranks near the bottom at 26th with an OPS of .674.
