The Atlanta Braves will travel to Chicago, Illinois, to face the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field for Game 3 of a three-game series, with the series' final game determining the series winner. The MLB Network, Bally Sports South, and Marquee Sports Network will broadcast Game 3 at 2:20 PM ET on Thursday afternoon.
The Atlanta Braves had a dominating performance in Game 2 on the road against the Chicago Cubs to even the series at a game apiece after winning the game by a score of 9-2. The Braves had a monster inning in the 7th inning as they scored six of their nine runs in the inning, which included a three-run home run from Marcell Ozuna, which also scored Ronald Acuna and Zack Short, while Matt Olson also hit a one-run home run in the inning.
The win improves the record for the Atlanta Braves to 28-18, which puts them in 2nd place in the NL East behind the Philadelphia Phillies and ends their two-game losing streak in the series against Chicago. However, the Braves have struggled over their previous seven games after compiling a record of 2-5 during that stretch and averaging 3.29 runs per game.
Atlanta has won six of the previous ten meetings against Chicago, outscoring the Cubs by an average of 5 to 4.1 runs per game in those matchups. The Atlanta Braves will look to win the series on the road with a win in Game 3 of the series.
Chicago has struggled to produce runs over their previous six games and has only averaged 2.67 runs per game during that stretch, including a 2-9 loss in Game 2 of the series at home against the Atlanta Braves, which also ended their two-game winning streak in the series.
The Cubs lost the previous series against the Atlanta Braves this season 1-2 on the road and have been outscored in the meetings with the Braves this season by an average of 2.6 to 4.4 runs per game. The loss drops the record for Chicago to 27-23 and puts them 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for 1st place in the NL Central.
The Chicago Cubs have won two of the previous three meetings against the Braves, while both teams have averaged 4.33 runs per game in those contests. The Chicago Cubs will look to avoid losing their third consecutive series in a row when they host the Atlanta Braves for Game 3 of the series on Thursday afternoon.
The Chicago Cubs are listed as -130 moneyline favorites at home against the Atlanta Braves for Game 3 of the series on Thursday afternoon, according to JustBet. Atlanta has won six of the previous ten meetings and has won by an average margin of.9 runs per game in those contests, while the Cubs have won two of the last three games in the series; however, both teams averaged 4.33 runs per game in those matchups.
Both teams are in 2nd place in their respective divisions; however, Atlanta has been the better team overall this season and enters Game 3 of the series coming off a dominant performance in Game 2 with a 9-2 win, while the struggles for the Cubs to produce runs continue as they have averaged 2.67 runs per game over their last six games, which is why I am taking the moneyline for the Atlanta Braves when they travel to face the Chicago Cubs for Game 3 of the series on Thursday afternoon.
