Texas at Atlanta

Chris Sale walked off the mound in St. Louis last Saturday, having thrown three shutout innings, confirmation that his second half is picking up right where a dominant first half left off. The left-hander carries a 2.20 ERA and a WHIP just over 1.1 into tonight, and against these Rangers specifically, he's been almost unfair, a 2.53 ERA and a winning record across parts of a decade and a half of facing them. Texas counters with Cal Quantrill, a bullpen arm pressed into rotation duty by injury, who's turned in a respectable four starts since the promotion but hasn't faced a lineup with this kind of pop. My mathematical model projections lean toward Atlanta by double digits, and it's not hard to see why: Sale against a fifth starter, at home, on a Friday, with the division lead on the line. The Braves haven't needed style points against Texas historically, and tonight looks like more of the same. Atlanta is the right side on the moneyline tonight.