Steve Merril

Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves Aug 12 2009 7:00PM
PICK: over
Your pick will be graded at: 9
EXPERT: Steve Merril
TITLE: MLB Over/Under Top Play!
REASON FOR PICK:

Washington's 8-game win streak finally came to an end last night, but they have still been in strong current form offensively this month. Craig Stammen takes the mound and brings a 3-6 record with a 5.40 ERA. In his last three starts he's 0-1 with a 15.42 ERA and three Overs. In just 9.3 innings of work he gave up 17 runs and 23 hits. Stammen has yet to face Atlanta and the Braves have gone Over in six of their last seven games, scoring 46 runs in their last seven contests. The Braves are averaging 5.1 runs per game in the division with a strong .281 team batting average.

Derek Lowe goes for Atlanta and he's 11-7 with a 4.15 ERA on the season. Lowe is 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in his last three starts with two going Over the total. Lowe has seen the Nationals three times this season, giving up 8 runs in 14.3 innings of work and a whopping 21 hits in that span. Cristian Guzman (11-29), Nyjer Morgan (5-9) and Elijah Dukes (2-5) hit Lowe the best. Washington is 10-2-1 Over in their past thirteen games, averaging a fantastic 7.5 runs per game during that span.


Play OVER the total.