Oakland Athletics at Atlanta Braves Preview: Sonny Gray vs. Julio Teheran

The Atlanta Braves grabbed a lopsided victory in game one of the weekend series against the Oakland Athletics, but there is no rest for the weary in baseball, and that is evident in Saturday’s match-up. Oakland still holds the best record in the Major Leagues, and Atlanta remains very much in a sense of urgency as the calendar moves toward the end of the regular season with a deficit in both the National League East and Wild Card standings.

The Pitching Match-up:

Staff “ace” Julio Teheran takes the ball for Fredi Gonzalez and company on Saturday evening, and despite his 10-9 record, the young right-hander has been fantastic this season with a 3.09 ERA. However, Teheran’s numbers have taken a hit recently, as he has allowed 11 earned runs in 13.1 innings over the past two outings, and that provides a bit of skepticism as he steps on to the mound. With that said, Teheran is the best pitcher on Atlanta’s staff, and it is hard to argue against him being a solid option.

In opposition, the A’s will send their own young, right-handed stud to the mound in the form of Sonny Gray. The 24-year-old Gray has a 2.86 ERA for the season (in the AL, no less), and he was lights-out as a rookie in the 2013 playoffs. The offense for the Braves came to life on Friday night against Jason Hammel, but Gray is a different beast from a “stuff” perspective, and it will be interesting to see how the lineup responds.

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The Particulars:

Date: August 16, 2014

Start Time: 7:10 pm ET

TV Channel: Fox Sports South

Radio: 680 AM/106.7 FM (Local in Atlanta), Full list of Local Affiliates

Live Stream: MLB.tv (Click Here, $)

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The Predictions:

Before we offer our predictions for today, here’s a look at our records to this point:

• Carlos: 8-5
• Brad: 6-7

With the prime pitching match-up, Carlos and I are split on this game. He will be backing Julio Teheran, and while I almost always would follow in his footsteps, the combination of Sonny Gray and the patient Oakland lineup allows me to pick them despite my rooting interest.

Please feel free to sound off in the comments with your predictions for the game and feel free to rub it in our faces when you beat us on twitter (@ATLBeatBlog).