Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commi sion if you sign up through our links. Read our for more information. Red Sox vs. Braves is a sneaky underrated interleague matchup. Boston has the best pitching staff in the American League, while Atlanta still boasts a roster talented enough to win another title. However, its worth mentioning that the Braves lineup is slumping and starting pitcher Chris Sale looks ready to battle his former team for the first time since being traded this past offseason. Im banking on a very low-scoring game Wednesday at Truist Park. Explore More Red Sox vs. Braves prediction (7:20 p. Joe Mauer Jersey m. ET, NESN) Sale looks as good as ever. His last few seasons in Back Bay were littered with injuries, as he to sed only 151 innings from 2020-22. However, he performed relatively well on the field, even if he wasnt playing like a seven-time All-Star. Acro s his first six starts with the Braves, Sale has a 3.44 ERA and a 2.81 expected ERA boosted by a 29% strikeout rate (42 in 36 innings). His velocity is up acro s his arsenal and hes suddenly mi sing bats at a near career-best level (15.4% swinging-strike rate). Season-high 9Ks for Chris Sale Braves On FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSNBraves) Sale is a pitcher to buy for the foreseeable future, especially in a revenge spot. Meanwhile, Boston starting pitcher Nick Pivetta is finally healthy again, making his first start since April 3 after suffering a right elbow flexor strain. Pivetta added a sweeper in June last season, and the new pitch mix transformed the much-maligned Canadian righty. Nick Pivetta returns to the mound Wednesday. AP Hes struck out 35% of batters since last July, the most among pitchers with at least 80 innings during the stretch. The sweeper grades out highly by the advanced pitching model metrics (125 Stuff+ mark), but its especially deadly when paired with his mid-90s high-rising fastball (20 iVB, 99th percentile among starting pitchers). Here are the top 10 highest ranking single-pitch tjStuff+ grades from the first week of the 2024 MLB Season. Only pitches which resulted in whiffs or called strikes are shown. 1) Nick Pivetta vs Jorge Polanco 4-Seam Fastball 147 tjStuff+ Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) Learn all you need to know about MLB Betting Read about the Learn all about Its always tough to battle Atlantas hard-hitting lineup, but Pivetta might catch them at the right time. The Braves have posted a team .558 OPS over the past two weeks, the third-worst mark in baseball. I feel great about betting on a relatively lower-scoring ballgame between Sale, Pivetta and the slumping Braves. Yesterdays Kutter Crawford-Reynaldo Lopez matchup ended 4-2 after the total closed at 8.5 and Im expecting a similar game script today. Red Sox vs. Braves pick Under 8.5 (-115, ) Zebby Matthews Jersey