The Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves meet Thursday in MLB action at Truist Park. The Chicago Cubs need a win after losing six of their last eight games. The Atlanta Braves need a win after losing six of their last nine games.
The Chicago Cubs have scored 10 runs in their last three games and three or fewer runs in five of their last seven games. The Cubs have lost six straight games when scoring three or fewer runs. Seiya Suzuki leads the Cubs with 19 hits and 14 RBI, while Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner have combined for 36 hits and 19 RBI. Drew Smyly gets the ball, and he is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 9 strikeouts this season. Smyly is 0-0 with a 5.79 ERA and 8 strikeouts in his career against the Braves.
The Atlanta Braves have scored 10 runs in their last three games and three or fewer runs in five of their last seven games. The Braves have lost seven of their last 10 games when scoring three or fewer runs. Matt Olson leads the Braves with 23 hits and 6 RBI, while Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna have combined for 38 hits and 19 RBI. Kyle Wright gets the ball, and he is 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 26 strikeouts this season. This will be Wright’s second career game against the Cubs.
The Cubs are 4-1 in their last 5 road games and 9-20 in their last 29 during game 3 of a series. The Braves are 17-8 in their last 25 home games and 47-23 in their last 70 overall. The under is 4-1 in Cubs last 5 overall. The under is 7-3 in Braves last 10 overall. The Cubs are 1-7 in the last 8 meetings in Atlanta and 1-5 in the last 6 meetings.
Both the Cubs and Braves offenses have been rough up to this point, and it leads me to leaning toward the under. Smyly has also been solid through 14.2 innings, allowing 13 hits and four runs. Wright has allowed 11 hits and two runs through 17 innings this season. Two pitchers in solid form and two lineups that can’t consistently score runs. Give me the under.