Braves and Dodd Can Beat Padres on Sunday Night Baseball

Padres vs. Braves, 7:08 ET

The only game that I was able to get right yesterday was the Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers. I've been saying it a lot this year: The Diamondbacks are going to surprise some people. I hope they continue to be undervalued because in the right spot, they can make you some good money. Today we have two teams that aren't undervalued at all in Sunday Night Baseball. The Padres and Braves both have their sights set on the World Series.

The Padres are loaded with all the talent you can imagine and the rumor is they are willing to add more. I kind of wonder if this will be like the Marlins. If the Padres win a ring, are they going to just sell off all of their players? Or will it be like the Dodgers, they will ride it out as long as they can and add players? Maybe there is some sort of unspoken rivalry between the owners. Look, if you own a baseball team, money is no object, so they both are doing what they should. Spending to get a great product. It has worked so far for the Padres as they have Xander Bogaerts on the team now and he is leading them in average, home runs, and RBIs early in the season. The concern needs to be their pitching staff though. Seth Lugo is not a guy to rely on for a World Series campaign. There is nothing wrong with him, but there is nothing special, either. He had a great first start for the Padres, and probably earned himself this start by going seven strong innings and allowing just one earned run on four hits.

The Braves are somewhat opposite of San Diego. Instead of buying up all the talent and trading for all of the talent, a lot of their success has been homegrown. Their pitching staff is also really solid. However, the hitting isn't something to scoff at. Their best hitter right now, Matt Olson, did come in a trade, but that was out of necessity as they said goodbye to mainstay Freddie Freeman. Dylan Dodd is taking the ball for the Braves. Dodd is another one of these young rotation guys that seems like he could be a big deal. His debut was fantastic as he went five innings, allowed six hits, and just one earned run. They only let him toss 73 pitches so they might be cautious with him, but he faced the Cardinals. One of the better hitting teams in baseball. We need to see how he pitches on Sunday Night Baseball, but hopes are high for Dodd.

I'm taking Atlanta in this game at -120. This is somewhat risky as I'm backing the unknown in Dodd. But, I also know Lugo and I don't think he is going to string together a ton of solid starts. This game could go way over the total today, but it also could be one where the Braves win 6-1, so I think the outcomes on the total are extreme. I do think the Braves win though and I'll play it at the -120.

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