The Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves will both look to take the weekend set after the teams split the series’ first two games. Runs have come easy so far, as the series has produced 24 total runs across the two matches, but can Trevor Bauer or Max Fried put an end to that on Sunday afternoon?
Both clubs are hungry for the win as L.A. sits third in the N.L. West, three games back from the Giants, while the Braves trail the Mets for the division lead by 3.5 games.
Oddsmakers have the home side as +120 MLB betting favorites with the total now at 8.5.
Here are our free picks and predictions for Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves for Sunday, June 6 with first pitch at 1:20 p.m. ET.
Dodgers vs Braves game info
• Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
• Date: Sunday, June 6, 2021
• Time: 1:20 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports South, SportsNet LA
Dodgers 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 EversonFanDuel pegged Los Angeles as -134 chalk at Saturday night's outset, stretched to -146 a few hours later, then backed up to -126 by late this morning. As of 1 p.m. ET, shortly before first pitch, the Dodgers are -136 while taking 84 percent of moneyline bets and 92 percent of moneyline cash. The total moved from 8 (Over -115) to 8.5 flat (-110), with ticket count and money both in the 2/1 range on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameDodgers vs Braves betting preview
Starting pitchers
Trevor Bauer (6-3, 2.24 ERA): Last year’s NL Cy Young winner has continued his success into 2021... but are there underlying stats that show Bauer isn’t an elite pitcher? The right-hander sits 17th in N.L. starting pitcher WAR despite the seventh-best ERA. He has given up five homers over his last two starts (1.54 HR/9), is stranding over 90 percent of his runners and teams have a .170 BABIP vs him — the lowest in the NL. But in the end, he is still the best pitcher in arguably the best rotation in all of baseball.
Max Fried (2-3, 5.35 ERA): The lefty is coming off a rough start where the Nationals’ weak bats managed five runs on six hits across Fried’s 2 2-3 innings of work. However, the ERA is somewhat deceiving as the starter hadn’t allowed more than a single over his last four starts before that. It’s all or nothing with Fried, who is 1-3 in his five home starts this year.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Dodgers: Max Muncy 1B (Questionable), Corey Seager SS (Out).
Braves: Christian Pache OF (Out), Marcell Ozuna OF (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 5-0 in the Braves’ last five games as an underdog. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Braves.
Moneyline pick
The Dodgers have dropped six of their last 10 games and find themselves in third in the NL West. They started the series off with a 9-5 win, which included an eight-run fifth inning, but Clayton Kershaw failed to get it done yesterday as the Braves used a five-run third inning to take the second game 6-4.
It’s amazing this team isn’t racking up more wins as the starting rotation has a sub-1.00 WHIP and the highest-scoring offense at 5.36 runs per game.
Speaking of the offense, it has a great matchup Sunday as one of the league’s best left-handed hitting teams will face lefty Max Fried. The Dodgers are sporting a .891 OPS versus LHP this year and have done well against the Atlanta starter in the past.
In his three career starts against L.A., Fried is 0-2 while allowing eight runs over 11 innings to go along with 16 hits. If Fried doesn’t bring his best stuff out of the gates, the Dodgers could be getting into the Atlanta bullpen earlier than later. L.A. is also 5-0 SU in its last five games against a left-handed starter.
The Atlanta offense is awakening from its early-season slumber and leads the majors in home runs per game at 1.49. They’ll need the long ball if they want to get to Trevor Bauer, who has surrendered just 40 hits across 76 innings this year — but 13 of those were home runs. The Braves will need some traffic on base if they're going to want to beat the reigning NL Cy Young winner as it will be tough to beat the Dodgers with solo bombs.
The current Atlanta lineup is 9 for 46 (.196) against Bauer and has collected zero home runs. The Dodgers’ starter is never afraid to stay past the 100 pitch mark, so if he is dialed in early, it could be a long day for the Braves, who have won just three of their last eight games.
The Dodgers also hold the advantage in the bullpen: L.A.’s relieving corps have the fourth-best ERA (3.71) in the N.L. while the Braves sit in third last with a 4.80 ERA.
This Los Angeles team is too good to be trailing both the Giants and Padres in the standings and should be sitting on top of the division at some point before the month is done. The Dodgers opened at -140 but that has since dropped to -130, which is a great price for a Cy Young pitcher.
PREDICTION: Los Angeles ML (-130)
Over/Under pick
Both teams have been profitable to the Over this year at a combined 62-49-3 O/U mark. The series’ first two games produced 24 total runs and each team showed they can stack points in a single inning.
Fried is a better pitcher than his ERA dictates but Sunday’s matchup is not the best spot to rely on Fried going deep. The Dodgers crush southpaws and have the third-best slugging percentage against lefties in all of baseball. Fried doesn’t give up a lot of home runs (just four over 40 innings) but with his WHIP of nearly 2.00, he sure has some stressful innings with lots of traffic on base.
We like Bauer taking care of business but that still doesn’t mean the Braves can’t touch him. As we mentioned, Bauer is susceptible to the long ball, as 33 percent of his hits allowed have been of the four-bag variety. The top of the Atlanta order is a tough spot to navigate as Ronald Acuna, Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley are 10 for 31 in the series and have scored eight total runs.
The Dodgers should have no trouble crossing the plate and we don’t believe Bauer is as dominant as his numbers dictate. Cheering for a pair of loaded offenses on a Sunday afternoon sounds like a great way to pass the time.
The total opened at 8 but has hit 8.5 at most as of late Sunday morning.
PREDICTION: Over 8.5 (-110)
Dodgers vs Braves betting card
- Los Angeles ML (-130)
- Over 8.5 (-110)
Picks made on 6/6/2021 at 6:38 a.m. ET
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