On Saturday we return to the Gateway City where the boys from the ATL are in town playing a weekend set against the host Cardinals. The Cards took Game One on Friday after an almost three-hour rain delay winning 2 to 1. Each team relied on their bullpens Friday so tonight’s starters will need to be able to give their teams innings due to the lack of arms available. The Cardinals will send Matthew Liberatore to the hill with his 4-6 SU record, an ERA of 5.34, and a WHIP of 1.53. St. Louis has a .243 batting average this season, an OBP of .319 and a slugging percentage of .393. Atlanta is 23-15 SU versus left-handed starters this season. The St. Louis pitching staff has an ERA of 4.17 and a WHIP of 1.33. The Braves will send Reynaldo Lopez to the mound with his 4-1 SU record, an ERA of 3.18, and a WHIP of 1.27 this season. In two July starts Lopez is 1-0 SU with an ERA of 1.80. Lopez is 2-0 SU with an ERA of 2.45 in three career appearances which included two starts. Over his last six appearances Lopez has an ERA of 1.42 and a WHIP of just 0.89. The Braves have a .247 batting average, with an OBP of .313 and slugging percentage of .411 on the year. The Braves’ pitching staff has an ERA of 3.60 and a WHIP of 1.23. The Braves have won seven of their last eight road games against the Cardinals following a loss. Our TPR Index projects a run advantage of 1.59 runs. The SPMatrix has Reynaldo Lopez with an average of 8.02 compared to Matthew Liberatore who has an average of 4.91. Our next set of metrics looks at the overall Pitchers Power Ratings. Coming into this game and situation Lopez has a rating of 132 while Matthew Liberatore has a rating of 79 with the league average of 100. The SIM Matrix has the Atlanta Braves with a 74.27 percent advantage against the St. Louis Cardinals in tonight’s contest. Play ON MLB teams as a favorite before the All-Star break when they are off a game in which they scored five or fewer runs and lost by one run, 753-513 SU (60%)(+$1.835). Play ON MLB road favorites coming off no rest and a SU loss in which their opponent left fewer than ten men on base, 783-569 SU (58%)(+$1,016). With strong support for the Braves to bounce back in Game Two on Saturday night in the Gateway City we will lay the chalk with the boys from the ATL. PREDICTION: 9* ATLANTA BRAVES 5 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 3