Vegas Play of the Day: Pittsburgh at Atlanta

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 | 10:45 a.m.

Here’s the latest installment of the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point. Our three sports writers started with a $10,000 bankroll — fictional, of course.

Pittsburgh Pirates (-110) at Atlanta Braves: $550 to win $500: Disclaimer: I’m a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. While you should never bet with your heart, it’s impossible to resist playing the Pirates today. It’s actually a great value.

First, they’ve won 10 of 12 games and are one of baseball’s hottest teams in the final week of the season. Second, they are playing to secure a wild-card playoff spot and home game field playoff game, meaning they’ll put their best players in the lineup and bring a strong effort.

That’s not the case with Atlanta. The Braves are playing out the schedule, having last week been eliminated from playoff contention. Furthermore, Atlanta fired its general manager last week and more front-office changes are expected. It will have plenty of Triple-A players in the lineup today.

Those players will have a hard time hitting Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole, who has won his last three starts and is peaking at the right time of the season.

A close game is still expected. Pittsburgh has played in three straight one-run games, and Atlanta starter Alex Wood has been brilliant in his last three starts, giving up just three total earned runs in his past 20 innings with 22 strikeouts.

Standings: Bern (47-37-1, $13,251), Keefer (43-44, $11,061), Brewer (37-45-3, $4,625)

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21