And boy, oh boy, do we got a showdown at Truist Park in Atlanta, folks—no... not folks, esteemed baseball enthusiast. My faux pas. Anyway! Let's digest the meat and potatoes of this matchup.
Miami's pitching sensation tonight is Kyle Tyler. Can I call him a sensation? With a 4.98 ERA and a WHIP even higher, I'm guessing some might call him something else. I’d be more excited about his 7.7 K/9 if it weren’t for those pesky 6 appearances. Looks like a tough outing awaits Kyle in a park right smack in the middle of batter-friendly and pitcher-friendly range.
On the other hand, we have Atlanta's very own Grant Holmes. The man has been doing some wonders with that 2.63 ERA and a sub1 WHIP. Eleven appearances this season and 9.5 Ks per-nine-innings, our man is pretty much dancing on that mound.
Miami comes in with bats like Xavier Edwards and Jake Burger. Edwards is swatting with a .404 average and an impressive 11 stolen bases. And Burger, don't get me started - 16 RBIs, 8 home runs, but unfortunately, no fries.
Now, let's turn our attention to the Braves. We got Travis d'Arnaud swatting .370 and Marcell Ozuna keeping the glucose high with a .313 average and downright mean 10 home runs. That's the right kind of sweet, folks— people! Not folks. I mean, who says "folks" these days?
Past showdowns between these teams seem to favor our Atlanta friends, who last few times managed to keep Miami's fishes out of the water. Also, just a quick reminder of those regular season records, Atlanta's at 60-49 while Miami is trailing at 40-70. Doesn't exactly scream underdog miracle, now does it?
Getting into recent form, our friends from Miami don’t seem to be socializing a lot in the “win” column. And the Braves? They are doing okayish. Not ruling it out— they might pull another one tonight.
Rolling up our sleeves and concluding this ballgame analysis - this game feels like walking into an ice cream parlor and only finding out vanilla is available. Cheers to the conduit of predictability!
Albert’s Prediction: Atlanta Braves by 3