The Atlanta Braves struck first in their series against the Chicago Cubs, thanks to a fantastic pitching performance from Ian Anderson and a bomb of a home run from Ronald Acuna Jr.
Check out our MLB free picks and predictions for Cubs vs. Braves on Wednesday, April 28, with first pitch scheduled for 7:20 p.m. ET.
Cubs vs Braves odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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MLB sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonAtlanta bounced between -130 and -135 throughout the morning at PointsBet USA, then all afternoon stuck at the opener of -130, where the moneyline remains at 4:30 p.m. ET. Action is almost dead even, with the Cubs getting 51 percent of tickets and the Braves 52 percent of money. The total moved from 9 (Under -120) to 8.5 (Over -115), with the Under landing 60 percent of bets/67 percent of dollars.
Check out the full line movement for this gameCubs vs Braves betting preview
Starting pitchers
Kyle Hendricks (1-2, 5.68 ERA): It has been an inconsistent start to the 2021 season for the usually reliable Cubs’ right-hander. He has traded bad and good starts and one of those bad starts came against this same Braves squad. Hendricks, who is known for his control, has had trouble with giving up the long ball—something the Braves are very, very good at.
Huascar Ynoa (1-1, 3.68 ERA): Ynoa had to transition to the Braves’ rotation thanks to all the injuries to their pitching staff and it has been mixed results to this point. The 22-year-old has three excellent starts this season and one not-so-good one. The not-so-good one came against, you guessed it—the Cubs.
Weather
It will be a nice night for baseball in Atlanta, with temperatures in the high-70s at first pitch, a slight 6 mph wind and gusts up to 9 mph. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Cubs: Kris Bryant 3B (Questionable), Javier Baez SS (Questionable), Roman Wick RP (Out), Jonathan Holder RP (Out), Joc Pederson LF (Out).
Braves: Ender Inciarte OF (Out), Chris Martin RP (Out), Sean Newcomb RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 4-0 in Kyle Hendricks' last 4 starts as a road underdog and 9-2-1 when the Braves play at home this season. Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. Braves.
Moneyline pick
The Braves took Game 1 of this series 5-0, powered by an impressive performance from Ian Anderson and an absolute moon shot from Ronald Acuna Jr. that measured at a massive 481 feet. Acuna and the Braves will try to keep going deep against Hendricks.
The Cubs right-hander was rocked by the Braves back on April 18, allowing seven runs on seven hits — including four dingers — in just four innings. But Hendricks bounced back from that start by allowing two runs on six hits in six innings against the Brewers.
Hendricks's biggest problem early on is that his sinker hasn’t sunk. Which in baseball terms, ends up looking like a batting practice fastball. But this is a guy with a career 3.61 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, so he is more than capable of putting on a strong performance in this one.
Ynoa, on the other hand, has been very solid, aside from the start against the Cubbies where he allowed six runs on seven hits, including three dingers. (Is there an echo in here?) Ynoa is getting by with mostly just a fastball and slider.
Even though the starters profile very similar and both lineups also prefer power over average, heading into this one we’re giving the edge to Hendricks and the Cubs. Hendricks has the experience, and the Cubs have the better bullpen—and thus the better value as an underdog.
PREDICTION: Cubs (+115)
Over/Under pick
While Game 1 went Under the total, thanks to the Cubs getting shut out, if you took anything away from what we broke down in the moneyline bet section, you should be able to tell we don’t think that will happen again.
The Braves rank eighth in scoring at 4.75 runs per game while the Cubs rank 11th in plating 4.57 runs per game and both are in the Top 5 in home runs per game. And while neither team is hitting for a good average right now, both have enough talent in their lineups that you'd expect some improvement.
So, with two starters who have been roughed up in this exact matchup and bullpens that rank 23rd (Cubs) and 27th (Braves) when it comes to WHIP, we’re betting this game returns to the norm and heads north of this number.
PREDICTION: Over 9 (-110)
Cubs vs Braves betting card
- Cubs (+115)
- Over 9 (-110)
Picks made on 4/27/2021 at 11:19 p.m. ET
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