The Atlanta Braves are the hottest team in baseball, and have the best record in the National League despite dealing with injuries at the top of their rotation.
Atlanta took the opening game of its series with the Cleveland Guardians on Monday, the team's ninth straight victory.
The Braves may have a little tougher of a time on Tuesday, as they'll take on Guardians ace Shane Bieber (5-5, 3.48 ERA). Kolby Allard (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his second start for the Braves this season.
Allard tossed 4.2 innings of three-hit, eight-strikeout ball in a win over the Minnesota Twins, but can he duplicate that showing against Cleveland?
Here are the latest odds and my best bet:
Braves vs. Guardians odds, run line and total
Braves vs. Guardians prediction and pick
The Braves are so hot right now that they are road favorites despite the pitching disadvantage in this game. So, I'm going to bet on them to win a 10th game in a row.
Atlanta's offense is humming, moving to No. 1 in the league in OPS this season and scoring at least four runs in eight of its nine games on this winning streak.
While Allard is a bit of a risky pitcher to back, I actually think this is a favorable matchup for him.
The lefty gets to take on a Cleveland team that has struggled on offense all season – especially against southpaws. The Guardians are just 27th in OPS against lefties this season.
Bieber hasn't been bad for Cleveland, but the Guardians ace has not been able to lead the team to wins. Cleveland has a 6-11 record in his 17 starts, scoring three or free runs in 11 of those outings.
That's simply not enough run support to beat this red-hot Braves team.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
