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• Atlanta Braves vs. Toronto Blue Jays
• Saturday, May 13 at 7 PM ET
• Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada
Has there been a team more impressive this campaign than the Atlanta Braves? Absolutely not. The NL East powerhouse has looked like the best team in the bigs and they’ve been dominant at both the plate and on the bump. This week, the Braves will head north to take on the Blue Jays for a thrilling series. Both of these teams have high aspirations this year. Looking ahead to the weekend, the Braves should cruise to a win over Toronto on Saturday night.
As great as the sluggers have been for Atlanta, the rotation has been brilliant too. In this one, starting hurler Bryce Elder will be getting the nod. Elder has been superb, as he’s 3-0 on the year. Not only that, but Felder is sporting an amazing 1.74 ERA. He’s been incredibly tough to hit for the opposition and more of the same should be on the way when he takes the hill to toss against the Blue Jays.
| Braves vs. Blue Jays odds |  |  |  |  |
| Braves to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Blue Jays to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
With the Blue Jays, their offense is loaded by Bo Bichette, George Springer and Vlad Guerrero Jr. and others. Those three are going to hope to make life difficult for Elder. The home fans in Toronto are surely going to look to try and have an impact on things as well. They’d love nothing more than to post an upset win over Atlanta. That’s not going to be an easy task at all, with the Braves looking so strong.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Braves hold -115 MLB betting odds to win on Saturday night. The Blue Jays are listed at +125. With the way Atlanta has looked this year, holding the No. 1 record in the majors, we don’t think that Toronto is going to be able to do enough to stun the Braves. With all of that said, we’re going with Atlanta as our pick.
This is wild: In 36 games this season, the top four spots in the #Braves order (Acuna, Olson, Riley & Murphy) have combined to hit 32 homers and drive in 100 runs.
I repeat, they did that in 36 games (25-11).
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) May 10, 2023
The over should hit here between the Braves and Blue Jays
While we do think that Elder is going to record a dominant performance vs. Toronto, the over should hit here between the Braves and Blue Jays. Why, you ask? Well, Toronto won’t be sending out a star hurler at the top of the first inning, as Jose Berrios will be starting for the AL East side in this one. Berrios has been incredibly inconsistent this year, which has been rough to see for Toronto as a whole.
On the year, Berrios is 3-3, with a concerning 4.91 ERA. The fact that his ERA is flirting with 5.00 is something that no one expected out of him at this point in the season. The matchups will be tough for him on Saturday, as Ronald Acuna Jr., Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson and more will be ready to post a big game. There’s no denying that Atlanta holds one of the best lineups out there.
Ronald Acuña Jr. muscles this one 470 feet! 💪
(MLB x @HankookTireUSA) pic.twitter.com/pkDU7cxfL2
— MLB (@MLB) May 11, 2023
Acuna is looking like an NL MVP candidate right now, which is awesome to see. Hearts were broken for him in 2021 when he tore his ACL early on in the campaign. He returned last year and posted some huge games. Early on in 2023, he has been brilliant. Earlier in the week, Acuna stole headlines after he smashed a 470-foot homer. He’s got unreal power. He’s a threat to leave the park at all times.
With all of that in mind, we think that Atlanta will be able to put up plenty of runs on the board on Saturday, especially with Berrios struggling so much right now. Per the oddsmakers, the over/under has been set at 6.5 runs, with -110 MLB betting odds. From our chair, we think the two sides will have no issues at all posting at least seven runs. Because of this, we’re 100 percent going with the over.
Braves continue to see their World Series hopes improve
One thing to keep in mind here is that the Braves continue to see their World Series hopes improve. As of this writing, the Braves are 25-12 on the year. This is remarkable and it has their fans dreaming of another trip to the Fall Classic. The analysts in Vegas think they have a great chance of making that happen, as Atlanta holds +550 World Series betting odds. Can they go on to win it all?
Entering the season, a lot of people were high on the Astros, Dodgers, Yankees and more to win it all. However, the Astros and Yankees have not been playing at the level that people expected of them. LA is looking great, but no one has been surging more than the Braves.
The way they’ve been playing in the regular season has their fanbase counting down the days for the postseason to arrive. They’re well on their way to winning the NL East – then after that, Atlanta’s top focus will be on trying to win the Series for the second time in the past three years. They look ready to make it happen.
