The Atlanta Braves are hanging on to the lead in the National League East but they could start to fall vs. offshore wagering odds now that third baseman Chipper Jones is out.
Jones hurt his left knee while fielding a ground ball and it is possible the injury will end his season. Odds at online wagering companies probably won’t be affected but the Braves chances of making the playoffs could suffer without Chipper.
The Braves are saying that Jones will need surgery and he will miss the rest of the season. He could be ready for next season if he decided to come back. He had been contemplating retirement and this injury may make the decision for him.
The Braves will have to rely upon Omar Infante and Brooks Conrad to fill in at third. Chipper had started to come on lately and was hitting .265 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs. Neither Infante nor Conrad has the power of Jones but they can both hit. The two players do not get the respect that Jones gets though. Atlanta is hoping to get All-Star second baseman Martin Prado back from injury soon and he will help. The problem for the Braves is that they are lacking power in their lineup. Troy Glaus is not the hitter he once was and other than Brian McCann, the Braves don’t have a big home run threat although rookie Jason Heyward is having a nice season.
Atlanta is 13th in the league in runs per game but they are just 20th in the league in home runs. The loss of Chipper doesn’t seem like a big one but his presence in the lineup did take the pressure off of some other players. Now it will be up to Glaus and McCann to lead the way.
The Braves do have the fourth best pitching staff in the league so they should be able to survive the loss of Jones. Whether they can do enough to hold off the Phillies though is in question vs. the baseball odds at online wagering companies. Philadelphia has had injuries of their own with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley being out but they have survived. The Braves will now be tested to see if they can do the same with Chipper lost for the season.