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The Atlanta Braves will get another look at their recent prized acquisition when former Cy Young winner Dallas Kuechel makes his second start of the season Wednesday in a battle of NL division leaders. The Chicago Cubs counter with Yu Darvish in the third of a four-game set from Wrigley Field. The game can be seen on MLB Network with wagering options available at BookMaker.eu.
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Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs
Date and Time: Wednesday, June 26, 2019, 8:05 p.m. ET
Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Probable Pitchers: Dallas Kuechel vs. Yu Darvish
Opening MLB Odds: Chicago -125, Atlanta +105, O/U Check Back Later
Braves at Cubs TV Coverage: MLB Network
Odds Analysis
Despite getting just three hits the Braves evened the series at a game apiece with a 3-2 win on Tuesday night. Two of the hits were homers by Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies, lifting Atlanta to its fourth win in five games against the Cubs this season. The Braves are also 17-6 in June opening a 5.5-game cushion in the NL East.
It appears as though no one wants to win the Central. The Cubs are in first-place by a game over Milwaukee even though they are 6-9 in their last 15 games. They paid a lot of money to get Darvish and the ROI has been awful. Darvish will try and prevent a fifth two-game losing streak since June 9, but the way things have gone that’s unlikely. Darvish is winless at Wrigley Field as a Cub in 12 starts.
Probable Pitchers
Making his first MLB appearance since last October, Dallas Keuchel ( 0-1, 5.40 ERA ) labored through five innings last Friday in a loss to the Nats. There were some encouraging signs after the former Cy Young winner allowed eight hits, including a homer, and three earned runs while throwing 99 pitches.
The Braves staked Keuchel to a three-run lead, but he coughed that up. He didn’t have a 1-2-3 inning and he also hit a pair of batters. Still, manager Brian Snitker praised the effort. “He threw the ball extremely well. He had a good feeling for what he was doing.” The Braves expect Keuchel’s command to be more consistent as he gets innings under his belt.
The Cubs might want to skip over Yu Darvish ( 2-3, 4.75 ERA ) when his spot in the rotation comes up at home. Facing the Mets last Friday, the righty allowed a pair of homers among four hits and four earned runs in a 5-4 loss, extending his winless streak at Wrigley Field to 12 consecutive starts. In fact, the confines have been quite unfriendly to Darvish, who has yet to win a game on the Wrigley bump. He also extended his streak of no-decisions to 10.
Darvish hasn’t picked up a win or a decision since beating Arizona on Apr. 27. And in those 12 home starts since joining the Cubs prior to last season, Darvish has been horrible. He’s 0-5 with a 5.66 ERA. Darvish was saddled with the loss in a start against the Braves earlier this season, giving up five hits and three runs with four walks over 4.0 innings.
Player to Watch
Albies would be a first ballot Hall of Famer if he played the Cubs every game. Albies hit a majestic two-run bomb for the winner on Tuesday and he’s 11 of 20 with a pair of homers against Chicago pitching this season. If you think that might just be a one season thing you’d be wrong. Now in his third season, Albies has 29 hits in 60 career at-bats against the Cubs for a ridiculous .483 average. You can toss in four homers and 11 RBIs to make the numbers even more impressive. He’s also 3 of 7 with a double against Darvish.
Bet Braves at Cubs at BookMaker.eu
Darvish hasn’t been the same pitcher since joining the Cubs. Injuries likely have something to do with that, but for the most part he’s been ineffective. Walks and homers have led to the lofty ERA and low win count. Darvish has surrendered 16 homers this season with five of them coming in the last three games. And we already mentioned his inability to win in Wrigley. The Braves touched him up back in April and the Cubs bullpen isn’t coming to the rescue. I do anticipate Keuchel to be better now that he’s made a start, and this is a game the Braves feel they should win.
MLB Score Prediction: Braves 6, Cubs 4
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