The Braves are at least a year ahead of schedule in their rebuild. They are leading the NL East having just won three of four from the Nationals. Now they head to the West Coast to meet the Padres. I expect the Braves to carry their adrenalin through in winning this first game of the series.

Atlanta is the supeior team and has the better starter going in a pitching matchup of Julio Teheran versus lefty Clayton Richard.

I'm surprised the Padres opened a favorite. The oddsmaker is seeing the Padres being 5-2 on their current homestand. That record, however, has been compiled against the Marlins and Reds. Those are the two worst teams in the National League.

Even with those five victories, the Padres still are 16-20 at home. They rank 28th in runs scored. Atlanta is in the top-six in runs scored and batting average. The Braves are 6-3 in their last nine games and have scored four or more runs in eight of their last 10 games.

Teheran has pitched much better on the road going 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA.

The Braves are 11-8 versus lefty starters and have a strong history against Richard, who is 0-6 lifetime versus Atlanta with a 6.75 ERA in nine appearances, including six starts.