Atlanta Braves face the Milwaukee Brewers: Who Has The Advantage?

What have you done for me lately?

Looking at a full season — and the statistics that go along with it — can be a fun exercise. However, the reality is that both of these teams are very different than what they were at the start of the 2021 season. Injuries, trade acquisitions, trimming the fat by determining which bullpen arms were going to cut it, are just some areas to consider.

In the last 72 games of the year, the Atlanta Braves scored 5.14 runs per game, which was an improvement over their first half considering they scored 4.9 runs per game for the entire season.

As far as runs allowed, the Atlanta Braves gave up 4.07 per game the entire season, but have been much better at 3.54 in the second half.

Like the Braves, the Brewers improved offensively as well. They scored 4.55 runs per game for the entire season, but 4.91 during the second half.

The Brewers pitching staff stayed pretty consistent throughout the entire year, giving up 3.84 runs per game for the entire season, and improving slightly in the second half with 3.81.

So, just looking at the second half, the Braves scored more (5.14 to 4.91), and prevented runs better (3.54 to 3.81), than the Brewers did.

Does this mean the Atlanta Braves have the advantage?

As stated earlier, not all schedules are the same. However, oddly enough, the Braves and Brewers played the exact same number of games against opponents with winning records at 68 apiece. The Braves were 31-37, while the Brewers were 32-36.

To be fair, we should look at how well they have done lately in this category to see how it translates to the runs scored and given up.

In the second half, the Atlanta Braves were 10-13 against teams who ended the season with a winning record. The Brewers did better in this category with an 18-17 record (although it should be noted, they were 1-10 in their last 11 games).