<p>Two teams that may well meet in October hook up when the Braves and Padres begin a four-game series in Cobb County Thursday night.</p>
<p>Young gun Spencer Strider hits the hill for the home team here against former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell for San Diego.</p>
<p>How are we playing this game with our free baseball betting pick?</p>
<h2>MLB Betting Odds </h2>
<p>Thursday's baseball betting lines opened Atlanta and Strider at around -150 over San Diego and Snell, with an over/under of eight runs. Early betting action then bumped the Braves 15 cents to -165.</p>
<h2>Padres-Braves MLB Betting Preview </h2>
<p>San Diego just split two games at home with Arizona earlier this week, blowing a 5-1 lead and losing Tuesday's series finale 8-6. The Padres then had Wednesday off to travel.</p>
<p>San Diego opened this season last weekend by splitting four games with Colorado.</p>
<p>Last year the Padres won 89 games and reached the National League championship series. This season they're playing against a "total wins" over/under of 94.</p>
<p>Atlanta, meanwhile, just swept three games from the Cardinals in St. Louis, taking that series finale Wednesday 5-2. The Braves opened their season last weekend by taking two of three games at Washington.</p>
<p>Last year Atlanta won 101 games before losing to Philadelphia in a divisional-round playoff series. This season the Braves are playing against a wins O/U of 95.5.</p>
<p>San Diego took the season series from Atlanta last year four games to three.</p>
<h2>Thursday's Pitching Match-Up </h2>
<p>Strider is making his second start of this season Thursday. Last Saturday, he held Washington scoreless on three hits through six innings, with three walks against nine strikeouts, in a 7-1 Atlanta victory.</p>
<p>Last year Strider hit 10/20 on quality starts as the Braves played 13-7 for him.</p>
<p>Over two appearances against San Diego last year, Strider allowed two runs on two hits and three walks through 4 2/3 innings.</p>
<p>Lefty Snell is also making his second start of this season. Last Thursday against Colorado, he allowed three runs on six hits and one walk, with nine K's, through 4 1/3 innings of a 7-2 Padres loss.</p>
<p>Last year Snell hit 11/24 on quality starts as San Diego played 10-14 with him.</p>
<p>This will be Snell's first start against the Braves since 2018, which is already a long time ago.</p>
<h2>Splits With the Sticks</h2>
<p>San Diego batted .239 against right-handed pitching last season, with a .317 team OBP and a .380 team slugging percentage.</p>
<p>Atlanta slashed .265/.338/.444 against left-handed pitching last season. Numbers like those led us to rank this line-up among the top two or three in Baseball in this split.</p>
<h2>The Bullpens </h2>
<p>The Braves bullpen posted a 3.03 ERA last season, along with a 1.14 WHIP and a 3.21 K/BB ratio. Numbers like those led us to rank this unit among the top four bullpens in Baseball.</p>
<p>The Padres pen put up a 3.83 ERA last year, a 1.21 WHIP, and a 2.94 K/BB ratio.</p>
<h2>MLB Betting Trends</h2>
<p>San Diego played 58-50 against right-handed starters last season.</p>
<p>Atlanta played 37-17 against left-handed starters last season.</p>
<h2>Totals Report </h2>
<p>The Overs are 4-2 in Padres games this season.</p>
<p>The Unders are 4-2 in Braves games this season.</p>
<p>The Unders played 41-38 at Truist Park last season.</p>
<p>The Overs played 4-3 in Padres-Braves games last season.</p>