Atlanta Braves at Seattle Mariners Preview: Alex Wood vs Felix Hernandez

The Atlanta Braves are a mess at the moment, and that is reflected by their six-game losing streak. It is one thing to be swept (in close fashion) by the best team in the National League, but over the weekend, Atlanta was unceremoniously put away by the lowly San Diego Padres, and as such, the natives are restless. The Braves continue their road trip with a quick, 2-game set in Seattle this week, and it would be helpful to grab a win or two.

The Pitching Match-up:

Alex Wood is a stud. The 23-year-old took a no-decision in his last outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he was incredibly effective, navigating 7 innings while allowing only 1 run. For the season, Wood is sporting a 3.30 ERA over more than 100 innings, and while his win-loss record is unfortunate, that does little to reflect just how positive this season has been for the left-hander.

Unfortunately, he’ll be opposed by the best pitcher in the American League in Felix Hernandez. Seattle’s workhorse right-hander leads the AL in ERA at 2.01 for the year, and with a minuscule WHIP of 0.89 and more than a strikeout per inning, it is easy to see how dominant Hernandez has been. To go a step further, Hernandez has allowed more than 2 earned runs in only 3 of his 23 starts this season, and to this point, he hasn’t allowed more than 4 runs in any start this season. Cheers.

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More from Atlanta Braves

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• Kyle Wright Shines As Folty Struggles In Atlanta Braves Loss To Red Sox
• Atlanta Braves: Grapefruit League Play Check Up
• Sean Newcomb’s Up & Down Day Against The Orioles

The Particulars:

Date: August 5, 2014

Start Time: 10:10 pm ET

TV Channel: SportSouth

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:

Things haven’t gone swimmingly for the Braves, and as a result, they have plummeted a bit for us. Still, Carlos is above water.

Here’s what our records look like at the moment:

• Carlos: 5-2
• Brad: 3-4

Tonight, Carlos is backing Alex Wood and the “good guys”, and while that is certainly admirable, I am going in the other direction. Felix Hernandez is simply terrifying and with the way the bats have gone silent recently, it’s tough to pick against “King Felix”.

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).