Braves at Astros 3/17/2017 Free MLB Picks & Predictions
by Tony Sink - 3/16/2017
Friday, March 17, 2017
The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches
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Probable Pitchers: Matt Wisler vs. Dallas Keuchel
The Atlanta Braves visit The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Friday, March 17, 2017 to play the Houston Astros in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are Matt Wisler for the Braves and Dallas Keuchel for the Astros.
The opening line for this matchup has Atlanta at +110 and Houston at -130. The Braves had a 82-69-10 over/under record and a 85-76-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 53% of the time. The Astros were 72-90-0 against the run line and had a 73-81-8 over/under record. They covered the spread 44% of the time.
The Braves are coming off a 68-93 record in 2016, including 37-43 on the road. Starting pitcher Matt Wisler had a 7-13 record with an earned run average of 5.00 and a WHIP of 1.33. He had 115 strikeouts over his 156.2 innings pitched and he gave up 159 hits last season. He allowed 9.1 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 4.85. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.95 and they gave up 537 base hits on the year. Teams hit .246 against the bullpen while being struck out 543 times and walking 256 times last season. As a team, Atlanta allowed 8.79 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.63 batters per nine innings. They were 24th in the league in team earned run average at 4.51. The Braves pitchers collectively gave up 1,414 base hits and 725 earned runs. They allowed 177 home runs last season and they allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings as a staff. Atlanta as a pitching staff walked 547 batters and struck out 1,227. They walked 3.4 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.6 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.36 and their FIP as a unit was 4.32.
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As a team Atlanta batted .255, good for 19th in the league while putting together a .249 average away from home. The Braves held a .384 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .321 which was good for 16th in baseball. They ranked 15th in baseball with 8.72 hits per game. Nick Markakis is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .269 with an on-base percentage of .346. He had 161 hits last season along with 67 runs scored and 89 runs batted in. He struck out 101 times and walked 71 times. Freddie Freeman hit .302 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .400. He totaled 178 hits while scoring 102 runs and he drove in 91. He walked 89 times and struck out on 171 occasions. The Braves had 1,404 hits, including 295 doubles and 122 home runs. They stole 75 bases and were thrown out stealing 34 times. Atlanta walked 502 times last season and they struck out 1,240 times as a unit. They left 1,161 men on base and had a team OPS of .705. They scored 4.03 runs per contest and scored a total of 649 runs last year.
Houston had a 43-38 home record and a 84-78 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 4.55, Dallas Keuchel had a 9-12 record and a 1.29 WHIP last season. He had 144 strikeouts over the 168 innings he pitched during which he gave up 168 hits. He allowed 9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.87. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.56 and they gave up 475 base hits on the year. Teams hit .227 against the Astros bullpen while being struck out 617 times and walking 153 times last season. As a team, Houston allowed 8.84 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.56 batters per nine innings. They were 11th in the league in team earned run average at 4.07. The Astros pitchers as a team surrendered 1,441 base knocks and 663 earned runs last season. They gave up 181 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Houston as a staff walked 453 hitters and struck out 1,396. They gave up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.29 while their FIP as a staff was 3.85.
As a team, they batted .247, good for 24th in the league while putting together a .238 average at home. The Astros held a .417 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .319 which was good for 19th in baseball. They ranked 23rd in baseball with 8.44 hits per contest. George Springer comes into this matchup after batting .261 with an OBP of .359. He had 168 hits last year along with 116 runs scored and 82 RBI. He struck out 178 times and walked on 88 occasions. Jose Altuve hit .338 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .396. He collected 216 hits while scoring 108 runs and driving in 96. He earned a walk 60 times and punched out 70 times. The Astros as a unit had 1,367 base hits, including 291 doubles and 198 homers. They had 102 stolen bases and were thrown out 44 times. Houston as a team walked 554 times last year and they struck out 1,452 times. They had 1,086 men left on base and had an OPS of .735. They scored 4.47 runs per game and totaled 724 runs last season.
Atlanta Braves Betting Trends
The Atlanta Braves were 82-69-10 against the over/under last season
The Atlanta Braves were 85-76-0 against the run line last season
Houston Astros Betting Trends
The Houston Astros were 73-81-8 against the over/under last season
The Houston Astros were 72-90-0 against the run line last season
Injuries to Watch
Atlanta Braves
No key injuries to report
Houston Astros
No key injuries to report
Tony's Pick: Take the Braves +110
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