<p>The first-place Braves and rival Phillies continue a three-game NL East series in Philly Wednesday night. Veteran Aaron Nola hits the hill for the home team here against rookie righty AJ Smith-Shawver for Atlanta.</p>
<p>Which way are we going with our free Atl/Phil 6/21/23 pick?</p>
<h2>MLB Betting Odds </h2>
<p>Wednesday's baseball betting market opened this game at right around a pick 'em, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action then slid Philadelphia into a -125 favorite.</p>
<h2>Braves-Phillies Betting Preview </h2>
<p>Atlanta grabbed the opener of this series Tuesday night, 4-2. The Braves spotted Philadelphia the first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, then scored once in the top of the sixth, twice in the seventh, and once in the eighth and held on from there for the victory.</p>
<p>Atlanta won Tuesday as a -150 favorite with Spencer Strider and covered against the run line at a price of +110. Also, Tuesday's game played under a total of 8.5 runs.</p>
<p>With Tuesday's win, the Braves now own a seven-game winning streak. At 47-26 overall, Atlanta leads Arizona by 3.5 games in the battle for the best record in the National League.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Tuesday's loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Phillies. At 38-35 overall, Philadelphia trails Cincinnati - which actually leads the NL Central - by a half-game in the battle for the No. 6 spot in the NL playoff standings.</p>
<p>The Braves lead the season series with the Phillies three games to two.</p>
<h2>Wednesday's Pitching Match-Up</h2>
<p><a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/70094&quot; title="Aaron Nola Pitching Game Logs">Nola</a> is 6/15 on quality starts this season, but only one for his last five. Last Thursday against Arizona, he gave up four runs and six hits through 6 2/3 innings, with nine strikeouts, in a 5-4 Phillies win. And over his last five starts, he's allowed 22 runs - 19 earned - and 26 hits, including seven home runs, through 32 innings.</p>
<p>The Phillies are only 7-8 with Nola this season, and that's about what they should be, based on his performances.</p>
<p>Over his last seven starts against Atlanta, six last season, including one in the playoffs, and one earlier this season, Nola allowed 19 ER and 43 hits through 46 1/3 innings. Philadelphia won four of those seven games.</p>
<p><a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/596513&quot; title="AJ Smith-Shawver Pitching Game Stats">Smith-Shawver</a>, 20 years old, is 0/2 on quality starts since reaching the Bigs earlier this month. But he's not going too bad. Last Thursday against Colorado, he gave up three runs and six hits through 5 2/3 innings of an 8-3 Braves win. And over his three ML appearances, he's allowed only three ER and nine hits through 13 1/3 innings, with four walks against 11 whiffs.</p>
<p>Atlanta is 2-0 with Smith-Shawver this year, and he can claim some credit for that.</p>
<p>This start will be Smith-Shawver's first career action against Philadelphia.</p>
<h2>Splits With the Sticks </h2>
<p>Atlanta is batting .259 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .333 team OBP and an ML-best .456 team slugging percentage. The Braves have also scored at least six runs seven times over their last ten games.</p>
<p>Philadelphia is slashing .266/.336/.417 against right-handed pitching. This line-up also hit just 1-12 with runners in scoring position Tuesday night.</p>
<h2>The Bullpens</h2>
<p>The Phillies bullpen owns a 4.33 ERA this season, along with a 1.38 WHIP and a 2.60 K/BB ratio.</p>
<p>The Atlanta pen owns a 3.58 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and an ML-best 3.45 K/BB ratio.</p>
<h2>MLB Betting Trends</h2>
<p>Atlanta is 23-11 on the road this season and 34-21 against right-handed starters.</p>
<p>Philadelphia is 19-12 at home and 24-23 against right-handed starters.</p>
<h2>Totals Report </h2>
<ul>
<li>The Over is 41-30 in Braves games this season.</li>
<li>The Under is 38-28 in Phillies games.</li>
<li>The Under is 16-11 at Citizens Bank Park this season.</li>
</ul>