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The Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves square off on Friday with first pitch set for 7:20 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Los Angeles will send Julio Urias (4-6, 2.56 ERA) to the mound while Ian Anderson (6-3, 4.35 ERA) gets the starting nod for Atlanta.
The Dodgers (43-25) are coming off a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds. The story for Los Angeles wasn’t the fact they scored 10 runs to secure the sweep on Thursday. First baseman Freddie Freeman went 2-5 with a two-run home run. He will be returning to his former team for the first time since signing with the Dodgers in the offseason. Sure, he will be picking up his World Series ring, but he also returns to where he spent the first 12 years of his major league playing career.
The Braves (41-30) have been arguably the best team in baseball in the month of June. They are 18-3 on the backs of their lineup coming alive. Shortstop Dansby Swanson is seeing an incredible turnaround at the plate from a horrible April. His hot bat has also sparked guys like Marcell Ozuna, Travis d’Arnaud and Michael Harris II who are making the Atlanta lineup tough all around. Anderson will be making his 14th start of the season. The Braves have won his last three starts including his most recent outing which lasted 6.2 innings and he gave up three hits and struck out six while earning his sixth win of the year.
Dodgers vs. Braves
Pitchers: Julio Urias vs. Ian Anderson
First pitch: 7:20 p.m. ET
Dodgers local broadcast: SportsNet LA
Braves local broadcast: Bally Sports Southeast
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Odds, picks & predictions
Run Line: Los Angeles -1.5
Run total: 9.5
Moneyline odds: Los Angeles -130, Atlanta +110
Moneyline pick: Atlanta +110
The Dodgers head into this game banged up and it could be an emotional game for Freeman. Yes, he is a professional baseball player, but this won’t be an easy game for him to stay locked in. Atlanta has been rocking this month and they are going to continue that momentum on the back of a strong start from Anderson to take the series opener.
Player prop pick: Ian Anderson over 4.5 strikeouts (+110)
Anderson has at least five strikeouts in four out of his last five starts. He hasn’t always been on point this season, but even in shorter outings, he is getting five punchouts. Los Angeles always presents a challenge at the plate, but Anderson will strike out at least five batters on Friday night.
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