ATLANTA BRAVES @ PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Baseball : North America : MLB
Monday, September 5th, 2011, 7:05PM US
(12:05AM GMT)

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PREVIEW

The Phillies look to stop a 2 game skid when they open a 3 game series against the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta trail the Phillies by 7.5 games in the NL East but sit pretty in the race for a wildcard, as they are in front of the Cardinals by 8.5 games. There are 2 very good pitchers on the mound today. This one could be a bit of a battle.

The Braves go with Derek Lowe, who is 9-12 with a 4.52ERA. In his last game, on Wednesday, Lowe gave up just 1 run on 3 hits in 6 innings to help his team beat the Washington Nationals 3-1. Lowe has been excellent of late, going 2-1 in his last 3 starts, with a very stingy 1.50ERA.

Lowe has faced the Phillies 3 times this season, and despite the 2-1 record, has a very decent 2.84ERA.

The Phillies will counter with Cliff Lee, who has just had an amazing month. His overall record stands at 15-7 with a 2.59ERA. Lee is now on a 6 game winning streak, with the last coming last Wednesday when he helped the Phillies beat the Cincy Reds 3-0.

That 6 game winning streak has seen Lee strike out 50 batters and walk just 10 in just over 47 innings of work. His ERA over those 6 games is an amazing 1.14!

Lee has gone 0-2 against the Braves this season with a 4.91ERA but his recent form, along with the fact this game is being played at home, make me believe we should not read too much into the head-to-head.

With Lowe coming in with a 1.50ERA in his last 3 matches, and Lee bringing a 0.79ERA is his last 3, this looks set to be a pitchers duel.

TEAM STATS

Atlanta Braves
Overall 82-57, Streak W1

Philadelphia Phillies
Overall 88-48, Streak L2

BETTING VERDICT

The price on the Under has risen to well above evens and I suggest having a little slice of it as it is great value.

The Pick :

Under 7 runs to be scored

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Under 7 runs to be scored @ 2.11 (Pinnacle)