Freddie Freeman and the Los Angeles Dodgers fired first on Monday night, with Freeman hitting a home run in his first at bat against his former team and the Dodgers winning the first game of the three-game series.
To their credit, the Atlanta Braves did outhit L.A. and managed to bring the game within two after falling down 6-0, but it was too little too late. Can Atlanta come out swinging earlier and even up the series or will two-time All-Star Walker Buehler clinch the series early for Los Angeles?
Continue reading for our free MLB betting picks and predictions for the Braves vs. Dodgers matchup on Tuesday, April 19.
Braves vs Dodgers odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Dodgers opened as moderate favorites in the -155 range and can now be found in the -145 range. The total opened at 8.0 juiced to the Uner and has since moved to 7.5 juiced to the Over.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Braves vs Dodgers predictions
Picks made on 4/19/2022 at 2:20 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Braves vs Dodgers game info
• Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
• Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2022
• First pitch: 10:10 p.m. ET
• TV: TBS
Braves vs Dodgers betting preview
Starting pitchers
Max Fried (0-2, 5.73 ERA): Fried has been a highly reliable arm since entering the league five seasons ago, with a career ERA of 3.40. Fried has struggled to start 2022, allowing seven earned runs and 15 hits across 11 innings pitched against the lowly Nationals and Reds.
Walker Buehler (1-0, 3.38 ERA): Walker Buehler has arguably taken over as the Dodgers' ace, and is coming off a 2021 campaign in which he pitched to a 2.47 ERA and struck out 212 batters, finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting. Buehler has two decent starts to his name already, and the Dodgers have won in both of his appearances
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Braves: Ronald Acuna Jr. OF (Out), Brooks Wilson RP (Questionable), Spencer Schwellenbach RP (Questionable).
Dodgers: Blake Treinen (Questionable), Tommy Kahlne RP (Questionable).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Braves are 5-7 against the Dodgers in games that Max Fried has pitched. Find more MLB betting trends for Braves vs. Dodgers.
Braves vs Dodgers picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
As if it came straight out of a movie, Freddie Freeman stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first inning last night against his former team and hit a home run. From there the Dodgers added five more runs in the next three innings to make it 6-0.
Although the Braves managed to make things interesting by scoring three in the sixth to bring it within two, L.A. managed to close out the game down the stretch and bring home the win in the opening game of this three-game showdown between the last two World Series winners.
Tonight's match will feature a pitching duel in which both pitchers have faced the opposing collection of hitters a more than fair amount but to very different results. These Braves have seen Walker Buehler 145 times and have actually had some success relative to Buehler's career numbers.
They've managed a .265 batting average which is much better than his career mark of .206. But to Buehler's credit, he hasn't allowed Atlanta to hit him too hard as the Braves' .364 slugging percentage is just a touch above his .340 SLG allowed across his career.
The players that have teed off the most on Buehler are Travis d'Arnaud, Austin Riley, and Dansby Swanson, who have gone a combined 14-for-37 (.378 BA) while adding five more walks. Orlando Arcia has also had success in limited looks, homering twice in just nine plate appearances.
Max Fried will take the mound for the Braves, and his numbers are not pretty against Los Angeles. 130 Dodgers have stepped up to the plate against Fried and they have walked away with a .315 batting average and .554 slugging percentage.
Those numbers are much higher than his career marks of .247 and .380. Most troubling is that these hitters have been able to go yard on Fried (6.2% home run rate) at nearly double his career rate (2.3%).
Of the seven Dodgers who have at least ten plate appearances against Fried, five are hitting above .300. That includes Trea Turner, Justin Turner, Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, and Cody Bellinger, who have gone a combined 32-for-85 (.376 BA).
All have homered against Fried, with Justin Turner and Max Muncy having done it more than once and possibly good candidates for home run prop bets. Expect this lineup to hammer away tonight.
Prediction: Dodgers moneyline (-145 at BetMGM)
Over/Under analysis
Given both teams' track records against these starting pitchers, the only way to lean is towards the Over. They managed to hit it last night with the 7-4 final — and if the second half of that game was any indication that the Braves' bats are starting to wake up a little — then that would be a great sign for the Over.
Last night's weather factors were relatively calm, but tonight will be a tad more hitter-friendly. Monday night's winds were around 5 mph on average and tonight's game will feature 12 mph winds at first pitch.
The humidity last night was also in line with seasonal averages for Los Angeles, but tonight's game projects to get as high as 80%. With Dodger Stadium now using a humidor (which stores balls at a standard 50% humidity) the drier balls will be likely to fly more than usual.
Prediction: Over 8 (-105 at PointsBet)
Best bet
The Braves showed signs of life last night but most of their lineup has still not woken up their bats. Two of the three batters with multiple hits last night (Matt Olson and Austin Riley) we identified in yesterday's write-up as being one of the few starting 2022 off on the right foot.
The rest of the lineup continues to struggle — and although Albies chipped in another home run and has five on the season already — they have all been solo shots and his one multi-hit game this year came in the game the Braves needed it the least (a 16-4 win over the Nationals).
It also doesn't help that Atlanta isn't finding a way on-base as a whole, as it generated zero walks in last night's game.
And although it has fared better than most teams against Walker Buehler, the Dodgers have fared much better against Max Fried. Asking the Braves to wake up the bats alone seems like a lot, but to do it at a pace better than Los Angeles figures to touch up Max Fried seems improbable.
Pick: Dodgers moneyline (-145 at BetMGM)
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