The San Francisco Giants (35-28) host the Atlanta Braves (27-34) on Friday, June 6, 2025. First pitch from Oracle Park is scheduled for 10:15 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on MLB Network.
The Braves enter Friday on a four-game losing streak after getting swept by the Diamondbacks. Can Atlanta right the ship on Friday night, or will Giants extend the skid?
Find my Braves vs Giants prediction for the Friday series opener below.
- Braves vs Giants pick: Giants Moneyline (+115) Play to +100
My Braves vs Giants best bet is the Giants moneyline. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Braves vs Giants Odds
Braves Odds | ||
---|---|---|
Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +128 | 7.5 -102o / -120u | -138 |
Giants Odds | ||
---|---|---|
Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -154 | 7.5 -102o / -120u | +118 |
Braves vs Giants Projected Starting Pitchers
RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL) | Stat | RHP Hayden Birdsong (SF) |
---|---|---|
4-4 | W-L | 3-1 |
1.3 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.4 |
3.13/3.70 | ERA /xERA | 2.37/3.60 |
3.31/2.93 | FIP / xFIP | 3.45/3.74 |
1.03 | WHIP | 1.24 |
19.7% | K-BB% | 17.4% |
47.9% | GB% | 35.5% |
109 | Stuff+ | 105 |
110 | Location+ | 92 |
Braves vs Giants Preview, Prediction
Things had just started to look a little better for the Braves on Thursday as they put up 10 runs against Arizona's staff, but a collapse from their bullpen — including closer Rasiel Iglesias — led to their fourth straight loss.
This offense is still in despair, ranking just 17th in wRC+ over the last two weeks with a measly .139 Isolated Power and a high 25.3% strikeout rate, and now it'll hope the most reliable man in the rotation can once again deliver.
Spencer Schwellenbach has once again been a stalwart when it comes to limiting baserunners in his first full season at this level, carrying a microscopic 4% walk rate and a 1.03 WHIP into this one. He's pitched primarily to contact on the ground, and while his middling 42.3% hard-hit rate and high .273 Expected Batting Average would ordinarily be regression indicators, but he's had the benefit of pitching in front of the league's second-best infield defense by Outs Above Average.
With a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio, and high chase and whiff rates which could soon push his strikeout rate closer to last year's mark of 25.4%, Schwellenbach seems as iron-clad as they come in this rotation. He had a couple of unsavory outings in May against the Dodgers and Red Sox, but shook those off to shut out the latter across 6 1/3 innings in his most recent start with 11 punchouts.
The Giants will counter with an exciting young pitcher of their own in Hayden Birdsong, who's done everything that's been asked of him this season. It appeared he was ticketed for the starting rotation after breaking camp with the team thanks to a strong spring, but he endured a month and a half in the bullpen and posted some friendly numbers along the way.
Since being stretched out as a starter, Birdsong has registered a 2.45 ERA and 1.44 FIP in three starts, which have taken him across 14 2/3 innings. He's seen his xBA rise to .259 over that span with a slight regression in his whiff rate, but other than that, he's looked like the same pitcher — if not a better one.
The batting average against Birdsong in those outings has actually come in four points higher than expected, and his xSLG has improved nearly 40 points. He's still struck out 25% of the batters he's faced, too, which is right in line with his season average, and his barrel rate has dropped to a cool 4.7% with a steep decline in hard-hit balls.
The strikeout and walk numbers simply continue to improve for this talented righty, and as a fly-ball pitcher, we love to see the hard-hit numbers come down as he marries his solid FIP with some friendlier contact for his field. San Francisco's outfield hasn't performed all that admirably this season, but the good news is that Birdsong's home park is notoriously kind to fly-ball arms.
Braves vs Giants Prediction, Betting Analysis
The Giants are mired in an even-worse slump than the Braves at the moment, carrying the third-worst wRC+ in baseball over the last two weeks with a brutal .089 ISO. It's not as if this team has been undisciplined, either, it's just that nothing is happening on contact with its average coming home at a lousy .211.
There's some hope to be found in San Francisco's low .267 BABIP, however, and the ground-ball/fly-ball splits are similarly encouraging. The Giants rank seventh this season in OPS against heavy ground-ballers like Schwellenbach as opposed to 26th in the reverse.