Braves-Phillies prediction: Picks, odds on Thursday, June 22

The Atlanta Braves (47-26) and Philadelphia Phillies (38-35) will put an end to their series on Thursday afternoon. Game time is set for 1:05 p.m. ET from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The teams were supposed to have an off-day between weekends series but Wednesday night's contest was rained out.

The Braves are -115 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, making the Phillies -105 underdogs with the over/under set at 8.5.

Braves

Day to day: C Sean Murphy (hamstring)

Out: RP Jesse Chavez (leg), RP Dylan Lee (shoulder), SP Max Fried (forearm), 3B Ehire Adrianza (elbow), SP Kyle Wright (shoulder), SP Kolby Allard (oblique), RP Tyler Matzek (elbow), SP Huascar Ynoa (elbow)

Phillies

Out: RP Seranthony Dominguez (oblique), 1B Rhys Hoskins (knee), SP Noah Song (back)

Bryce Elder vs. Aaron Nola

Bryce Elder (5-1, 2.60 ERA) will make his 15th start in Year 2 as an MLB pitcher and put together a strong performance in his last time out. Elder allowed just one run on four hits and zero walks with four strikeouts over six innings of work in a 10-2 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Aaron Nola (6-5, 4.66 ERA) made 15 starts this season in Year 9 with the Phillies. He has gone fairly deep into games by today's standards, but opponents have been putting up plenty of runs against him recently. In his last start, he allowed four runs on six hits and a walk with nine strikeouts over 6.2 innings in a victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Braves have the best offense in the league when it comes to slugging percentage (.479) and while the season-long numbers look strong, Elder has a 5.19 ERA through three starts this month. On the other side, Nola allowed at least four runs in four of his last five appearances.

Pick: Over 8.5

Oddsmakers suggest this one could go either way, and it's hard to have a strong opinion to where this game will go. Elder has been the pitcher over the sample size of this season by a fairly wide margin, and the Braves certainly will bring the better lineup to the plate in this spot.

Pick: Braves

  
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