Braves at Padres 6/4/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Atlanta Braves head to southern California for the first game of a three-game series with the San Diego Padres on Monday.

The Braves were beaten on Saturday by National League East rivals the Washington Nationals snapping a two-game winning streak. Atlanta will complete its four-game series with the Nationals on Sunday and currently holds a half game lead over Washington for first place in the division.

San Diego won on Saturday defeating the Cincinnati Reds 8-2. Rookie Eric Lauer pitched well through five innings, added his first career RBI, and had a pick off. Lauer is now 2-3 and won for the first time in his last five starts. Lauer gave up five hits and one run while striking out five and walking two. Freddie Freeman leads the Braves with a .335 batting average and team high 40 RBIs. Ozzie Albies has the team lead in home runs with 14 and Nick Markakis has 76 hits to lead the team. Atlanta has a team batting average of .260, while opposing hitters are averaging .233 at the plate against Braves pitching. On Monday, Atlanta will send Julio Teheran to the mound. The right-hander this season is 4-3 with an ERA of 4.03, 54 Ks and 30 BBs.

Eric Hosmer leads the Padres with a .280 batting average. Christian Villanueva has the team lead in home runs with 15 and RBIs with 35. Jose Pirela leads in hits with 63. San Diego has a team batting average of .231 while opposing hitters are averaging .256 at the plate against Padres pitching. On Monday, the Padres will send Clayton Richard to the mound. The southpaw this season is 3-6 with an ERA of 4.74, 61 Ks and 25 BBs.