Friday is the last day of June, a month the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves surely don't want to see end. They've easily been easily the best team in baseball this month and could set a few franchise records Friday night against the visiting Miami Marlins and at least a few home runs hit. The Braves are -190 favorites at Caesars Sportsbook.
Atlanta temporarily Wednesday had the best record in the majors, but Tampa Bay rallied late at Arizona to reclaim the top spot. The Braves' 53-27 record marks their best 80-game start since 1897, when they were the Boston Beaneaters. Atlanta is an obscene 131-61 since June 1, 2022, nearly 10 more wins than any other team. The Braves are the +400 favorites to win the World Series at Caesars, with the Dodgers next at +550.
Outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is the -200 favorite for NL MVP. He's batting .331 with 19 homers, 51 RBI and 36 steals, on pace for an historic 38 home runs and 73 steals. No player has ever had a 30 HR/60 SB season and only five times has there been a 40/40 season. Acuña, barring injury, will become the first player ever with 20 HR and 35 SB prior to the All-Star break. Atlanta has seven players on pace for at least 25 homers, which no team has ever done.
In June, the Braves are 20-4. A win Friday would give them their best record in a month since September 1898 when they were still the Beaneaters (23-4-1). The Braves have an MLB-best 55 homers this month, two shy of the team record for any month.
Braves offense in June (MLB ranks)
The last team to post both the highest home run rate and lower strikeout rate in a month was the Astros in September 2019. Atlanta's offense first faces Marlins starting pitcher Bryan Hoenig (1-1, 2.31) on Friday. The rookie converted reliever hasn't allowed a run in back-to-back starts spanning nine innings. He isn't fully stretched and likely won't get deep into the game. Hoenig did start in Atlanta in his season debut on April 25 and allowed four runs and six hits over 3.2 innings in a loss. Acuña is 1-for-4 with a double off him.
Incidentally, don't sleep on the Marlins, who have won five straight and come off an impressive sweep in Boston. This is the third season in Marlins franchise history in which they've been at least 14 games over .500. They won the World Series in each of the previous two seasons (2003 & 1997). They are +5000 longshots to win the Fall Classic.
Atlanta has some injury issues in the rotation, and Michael Soroka is likely to be called up from Triple-A to start on Friday. Soroka is still only 25. He had a breakout 2019 season in which he was 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA. Alas, injuries have derailed him since. Soroka has made only five big-league appearances since. In his two MLB outings this year, he's 0-1 with an 8.38 ERA. Soroka has a 1.42 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 19 innings (three starts) since being optioned back to the minors in early June.
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