Philadelphia Phillies vs Atlanta Braves Prediction, 8/23/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Philadelphia Phillies vs Atlanta Braves

Date: Sunday, August 23, 2020

Location: Truist Park in Cumberland, GA

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Phillies (+118) Braves (-128)

Didi Gregorius and the Philadelphia Phillies (9-13, 4th in NL East) travel to Truist Park on Sunday where they'll take on the Atlanta Braves (15-11, 1st in NL East). The Braves open this game at -128 while the Phillies are coming in at +118. The O/U is set at 9.5. The expected starting pitchers will be Zach Eflin and Josh Tomlin.

Key Philadelphia Phillies Injuries

8/22/2020 Ranger Suarez RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/22/2020 Jay Bruce LF Quadriceps Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
8/21/2020 Jose Alvarez RP Groin Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/11/2020 David Robertson RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
7/25/2020 Seranthony Dominguez RP Elbow Out for the season

Key Atlanta Braves Injuries

8/22/2020 Ozzie Albies 2B Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/22/2020 Nick Markakis RF Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/21/2020 Ronald Acuna RF Wrist Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/4/2020 Mike Soroka SP Achilles Out for the season
7/23/2020 Cole Hamels SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
7/21/2020 Jacob Webb RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
7/21/2020 Phil Pfeifer RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
6/26/2020 Jeremy Walker RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Phillies have a 9-13 overall record this season. Eflin (25-32 career win-loss record) sits with a FIP of 4.78 while he has faced 1,867 hitters in the major leagues. His ERA is 4.74 (228 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.346. He has surrendered 464 hits (9.6 hits per nine innings) and has 119 free passes. Eflin has pitched in 433 frames and has 341 punchouts so far in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 7.97 and they have given up 107 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .309 against the bullpen and they've struck out 75 hitters and walked 30 batters. As a team, Philadelphia allows 10.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.6 batters per nine innings. They are 27th in the league in team earned run average at 5.58. The Phillies pitchers collectively have given up 219 base hits and 113 earned runs. They have allowed 35 home runs this season, ranking them 13th in the league. Philadelphia as a pitching staff has walked 66 batters and struck out 195. They have walked 3.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.6 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.56 and their FIP as a unit is 4.73.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Philadelphia is hitting .259, good for 4th in the league. The Phillies hold a .450 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .342, which is good for 3rd in baseball. They rank 13th in MLB with 8.4 hits per game. Didi Gregorius is hitting .307 with an on-base percentage of .357. He has 23 hits this season in 75 at bats with 15 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .467 and an OPS+ of 122. J.T. Realmuto is hitting .289 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .341. He has totaled 22 hits and he has driven in 21 men in 76 at bats. His OPS+ is 160 while his slugging percentage is at .645. The Phillies have 185 hits, including 36 doubles and 30 home runs. Philadelphia has walked 83 times so far this season and they have struck out 167 times as a unit. They have left 151 men on base and have a team OPS of .793. They score 5.36 runs per contest and have scored a total of 118 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Atlanta has a 15-11 overall mark this year. Tomlin (64-54 career win-loss record) has earned a 4.65 earned run average while conceding 9.6 hits per 9 innings. His SO/W ratio is 4.73 and he has faced 4,132 opposing hitters thus far in his career. During his MLB career, Tomlin has conceded 1,063 base hits while he has totaled 681 strikeouts in 993 frames. He has allowed 513 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.215 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.7. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.46 and they have given up 104 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .214 against the Braves bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 119 batters and walked 42 opposing hitters. As a team, Atlanta allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.32. The Braves pitchers as a team have surrendered 203 base knocks and 107 earned runs this season. They have given up 27 home runs this year, which ranks 26th in Major League Baseball. Atlanta as a staff has walked 101 hitters and struck out 214 batters. They give up a walk 4.1 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.36 while their FIP as a staff is 4.37.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .258, good for 7th in the league. The Braves hold a .449 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .326, which is good for 9th in baseball. They rank 6th in MLB with 8.7 hits per contest. Marcell Ozuna comes into this matchup batting .280 with an OBP of .382. He has 26 hits this year along with 17 RBI in 93 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .559 with an OPS+ of 147. Austin Riley is hitting .171 this season and he has an OBP of .234. He has collected 12 hits in 70 at bats while driving in 11 runs. He has an OPS+ of 45 and a slugging percentage of .314. The Braves as a unit have 227 base hits, including 56 doubles and 37 homers. Atlanta has walked 85 times this year and they have struck out on 260 occasions. They have had 174 men left on base and have an OPS of .776. They have scored 5.19 runs per game and totaled 135 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Phillies/Braves MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Phillies (+118)

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