Oakland Athletics (23-35, fourth in the AL West) vs. Atlanta Braves (31-23, second in the NL East)
Atlanta; Friday, 7:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: JP Sears (4-3, 3.88 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 40 strikeouts); Braves: Reynaldo Lopez (2-2, 1.75 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 47 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Braves -222, Athletics +185; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves host the Oakland Athletics on Friday to begin a three-game series.
Atlanta has a 31-23 record overall and a 17-11 record in home games. Braves pitchers have a collective 3.47 ERA, which ranks seventh in MLB play.
Oakland has gone 10-19 on the road and 23-35 overall. The Athletics have the 10th-ranked team slugging percentage in the AL at .382.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marcell Ozuna has 11 doubles and 16 home runs while hitting .312 for the Braves. Adam Duvall is 5-for-29 with a double and three home runs over the last 10 games.
Shea Langeliers leads Oakland with 12 home runs while slugging .491. JJ Bleday is 12-for-42 with three home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 4-6, .226 batting average, 3.58 ERA, outscored by two runs
Athletics: 4-6, .236 batting average, 3.31 ERA, outscored by six runs
INJURIES: Braves: Alex Jordan Minter: 15-Day IL (hip), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 10-Day IL (knee), AJ Smith-Shawver: 15-Day IL (oblique), Tyler Matzek: 15-Day IL (elbow), Angel Perdomo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Strider: 15-Day IL (right elbow strain)
Athletics: Lucas Erceg: 15-Day IL (forearm), Kyle Muller: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Austin Adams: day-to-day (neck), Ross Stripling: 15-Day IL (elbow), Esteury Ruiz: 10-Day IL (wrist), Darell Hernaiz: 60-Day IL (ankle), Alex Wood: 15-Day IL (rotator cuff), Paul Blackburn: 15-Day IL (foot), Joseph Boyle: 15-Day IL (back), Freddy Tarnok: 60-Day IL (hip), Luis Medina: 60-Day IL (knee), Sean Newcomb: 60-Day IL (knee), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Gott: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
