Peter Lewis
• Atlanta Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers
• Friday, July 21 at 7pm ET
• American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
In one of the best matchups of the week, fans can’t wait to see the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers go to battle. This should be a fantastic matchup and it could prove to be a preview of a postseason matchup. Atlanta is looking like one of the best teams in the bigs, but Milwaukee will hope to post an upset or two in the coming days. With that said, the Braves are favored to beat the Brewers in a Friday night showdown. Will they get the job done?
The Braves were red hot before the MLB All-Star break arrived and they’re ready to keep things going strong the rest of the way. With the way they’ve been playing, the expectation is that the Braves will not only push for an NL pennant, but people have high hopes for them to go on a World Series run too. It won’t be easy, but with the talent they have in their lineup and in the starting rotation, anything can happen with this club.
| Braves vs. Brewers odds |  |  |  |  |
| Braves to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Brewers to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
As for the Brewers, Milwaukee has surprised plenty of people this campaign with its strong play. The Brewers are looking fantastic and they have a great chance to take home an NL Wild Card spot. Not only that, but they’re currently in first place of the NL Central standings, so the club winning the division title won’t be a surprise either. They could make quite a statement by upsetting the Braves on Friday.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, Atlanta holds -115 MLB betting odds to take down the Brew Crew on Friday night. Milwaukee, the home team, holds +125 odds. With this game being played in Milwaukee, the home fans will hope to make an impact in this one. However, with the way the Braves have looked over the last month, we don’t think that will happen. We’re going with Atlanta as our pick.
✈️✈️✈️#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/OSmRstFssg
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 19, 2023
Ronald Acuña Jr. remains the favorite to win NL MVP
With the way he has looked this year, Ronald Acuña Jr. remains the favorite to win NL MVP and it’s going to be a complete and total surprise if he doesn’t take home the honors. The youngster is incredibly easy to root for, especially after he tore his ACL not long ago. That season, the Braves ended up winning the World Series, but Acuña wasn’t able to help out due to his serious knee injury.
Acuña has been on fire this year, hitting the cover off of the ball. As of this writing, Acuña is hitting .334, with 23 home runs and 58 RBI. Acuña has easily been the best player overall in the NL. If it weren’t for Shohei Ohtani, people would be talking about his game way more than they currently are. Despite that, Acuña has the Braves in a great position to have yet another memorable year. The rest of the year will be entertaining for them, no question.
Ronald Acuña Jr. has 43 stolen bases (tied for most in MLB) and 22 home runs so far this year… INSANE ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/6WzsnUp8Mb
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 16, 2023
“It would mean a lot to me personally just because I feel like not a lot of players have been able to accomplish something like that,” Acuña said when asked about potentially joining the 40-40 club later this season. “But my goal maintains the same, just try to stay as healthy as possible and help the team win.”
Per the oddsmakers, Acuña holds -500 MLB betting odds to win NL MVP. That’s an unreal number and it shows you how confident people in Vegas are that he’ll win the award. A lot can happen over the next few months, but Acuña is showing no signs of slowing down. If the Braves are able to go on a deep postseason run and win the World Series, it’s only going to help his chances. With that said, we’re going with Acuña as our pick to win NL MVP. He’s one of the best in the business these days.
The Braves will push for the World Series title this fall
Looking down the road, there’s no doubt in our minds that the Braves will push for the World Series title this fall. In addition to Acuña, the Braves feature Ozzie Albies, Spencer Strider, Matt Olson and others. For the Braves, it’s really going to come down to how healthy they can stay. We’ve seen other teams struggle quite a bit in that department, including the New York Yankees. However, the Braves have been able to remain close to 100 percent across the board.
If that can continue to be the case this summer and in the fall, then teams will have to watch out for the NL East powerhouse. Other teams like the Dodgers, Astros, Rays, Yankees and more will be ready to win it all this year, but something tells us that the Braves will be the kings of the sport once November rolls around. Only time will tell if that happens or not, but with their +350 World Series betting odds, it’s time to take Atlanta seriously.
