Athletics vs. Braves (June 1, 2024) Preview

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)

: 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 is 31-23 overall and 17-11 in home games. Braves pitchers have a collective ERA of 3.47, which ranks seventh in MLB play.

Oakland is 10-19 on the road and 23-35 overall. The Athletics have the 10th team slugging percentage in the AL at .382.

Friday’s match 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 homers over the last 10 games.

Shea Langeliers leads Oakland with 12 home runs while hitting .491. JJ Bleday is 12-for-42 with three homers and four RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 4-6, .226 batting average, 3.58 ERA, led by two runs

Athletics: 4-6, .236 batting average, 3.31 ERA, led 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 sprain)

Athletics: Lucas Erceg: IL 15 days (forearm), Kyle Muller: IL 15 days (shoulder), Austin Adams: daily (neck), Ross Stripling: IL 15 days (elbow), Esteury Ruiz: IL 10 days (wrist ), Darell Hernaiz: IL 60 days (ankle), Alex Wood: IL 15 days (rotator cuff), Paul Blackburn: IL 15 days (foot), Joseph Boyle: IL 15 days (back), Freddy Tarnok: IL 60 days (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.