vlaze.com

Atlanta has struggled in recent games against first place competition. They dropped their first 5 games against Philadelphia and Chicago prior to their 3 game series with the first place LA Angels. They averaged only 3 runs in those 5 losses. The Braves have been hit with injuries to starting pitchers and their closer John Smoltz is out for the year. Their hitting star Chipper Jones has missed games this week with a torn quad. Starting center fielder Mark Kotsay and his.294 batting average currently is on the DL. Left fielder Matt Diaz is also on the DL and he sports a career batting average of .310 in three seasons with Atlanta. The Angels have relied on good starting and bullpen pitching this season. They sit near the bottom in Major League Baseball averaging just 4.2 runs per game. Joe Saunders has had a good season this year and should bounce back against this banged up Braves team. Play this one under 8 ½ runs.