The National League East-leading Atlanta Braves (71-55) will look to extend their winning streak to four games and continue building their lead atop the division on Thursday when they visit the Miami Marlins (51-77) as solid road favorites at the sportsbooks.The Braves are coming off a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road to rebound after losing four straight to the Colorado Rockies at home.MLB betting line: The Braves opened as -172 favorites (wager $172 to win $100); the total is at eight runs Michael Brantley Jersey , according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)MLB betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 5.0-4.2, Braves (MLB picks on every game)Check out the OddsShark podcast on iTunes or at OddsShark.libsyn.com for more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news. Why the Braves can pay on the MLB linesAtlanta has dominated Miami this season, going 12-3 in the first 15 meetings, according to the OddsShark MLB Database. That includes a current six-game series winning streak after sweeping the Marlins in a four-game set at home a little more than a week ago.Lefty Sean Newcomb (10-6, 3.73 ERA) did not toe the rubber in that most recent matchup for the Braves, but he did perform well and got some help at Miami on July 23 http://www.indiansfa...an-gomes-jersey , allowing just one run and four hits in six innings of a 12-1 victory. In fact, the 25-year-old is a perfect 3-0 versus the Marlins this season with a sparkling 1.00 ERA.Why the Marlins can pay on the MLB linesMiami hopes to see the Newcomb from his last start on Friday when he surrendered seven runs and nine hits to Colorado in 5.1 innings of an 11-5 defeat. While the Marlins have struggled against him previously this year, they have won three of their past four games overall, beating the Washington Nationals twice and the New York Yankees once during that stretch.Rookie Elieser Hernandez (2-6, 5.08 ERA) will get the call here for Miami in a tough spot, but he has pitched well versus Atlanta in 2018. Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesThe 23-year-old Venezuelan has given up only one run to the Braves in eight innings of relief.Smart betting pickThe pitching matchup obviously favors Atlanta but so does the team's home-road splits. The Braves own one of the league's best records away from home at 37-27, and they backed it up again in sweeping the Pirates. Atlanta has won five of its last six on the road too and will make it six of seven with another big victory in this series opener. MLB betting trendsAtlanta is 17-8 in its last 25 games.Atlanta is 5-1 in its last six games on the road.Miami is 2-5 in its last seven games at home. All MLB odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app. Nelson Cruz has done plenty of damage against the Los Angeles Angels in his 14-year career Kenny Lofton Jersey , and the Seattle Mariners designated hitter will look to cause more Friday night in the third contest of the four-game series.Cruz hit a three-run homer Thursday night in an 8-2 victory in the series opener at Angel Stadium, the 359th homer of his career and 50th against the Angels. Alex Rodriguez, who began his career as a shortstop with the Mariners, is the only player with more home runs against Los Angeles (70).Seattle (80-66) improved to 69-0 when leading after eight innings. The Oakland A’s are the only other team in the majors unbeaten in that situation.Article continues below ...The Angels (73-74) missed a chance to climb over .500 for the first time since Aug. 18.Cruz hit his 36th home run of the season in the fourth inning to give the Mariners a 6-0 lead. He hit his 35th on Wednesday in a 5-4 loss to to the visiting San Diego Padres, giving him 1,000 RBIs for his career and making him the only player with at least 35 home runs every season since 2014.“I’ve been playing a lot of games and it shows my routine,” he told ROOT Sports after Thursday’s win.Cruz will also look to continue his success against Angels starter Matt Shoemaker. Cruz is 8-for-26 in his career off the right-hander with two home runs.Shoemaker (2-0, 3.45 ERA) is scheduled to make his third start since coming off a five-month stay on the disabled list because of a second forearm surgery in two years.He’s 4-4 with a 4.33 ERA in 14 career appearances (12 starts) against the Mariners. He faced them twice last season before the initial forearm injury ended his season in mid-June.The Mariners are hoping to have shortstop Jean Segura back in the starting lineup after he missed the past three games with flu-like symptoms. Segura http://www.indiansfa...im-thome-jersey , who won the American League Final Vote to earn the final roster spot on the All-Star team, is fifth in the AL with a .310 batting average.Mariners left-hander James Paxton (11-6, 3.83) was originally scheduled to start Friday, but has a form of pneumonia, Seattle manager Scott Servias told reporters before Thursday’s game. Veteran right-hander Felix Hernandez also remained in Seattle to rest his sore hamstring.The Mariners are expected to use a string of relievers on Friday, although no pitcher had been designated to start as of Thursday night.Mariners center fielder Mitch Haniger has led off the past three games with a base hit, lifting Seattle’s batting average to .357 leading off games this season, the best mark in the majors.Haniger’s first-inning double Thursday night was his 61st extra-base hit this season. He’s the first Seattle player with at least 60 extra-base hits in a season since Raul Ibanez had 69 in 2008.Seattle first baseman Ryon Healy Manny Ramirez Jersey , who went 0-for-3 with an RBI on Thursday night, has been one of the team’s hottest hitters the past month. The Southern California native is hitting .305 in the past 23 games with three home runs and 15 RBIs.Angels center fielder Mike Trout has been even hotter, hitting .369 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs in his past 25 games. He went 2-for-3 with two doubles Thursday night.“We hit some balls hard,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told reporters after the game.
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