On the heels of what may be one of the most embarrassing chokes in franchise history, the Phillies have to face the Mets again…and then again…and then again. An 8-7 loss after playing brilliantly for 8 innings is inconceivable, but it happened and may open up the floodgates to some betting value.
What happened in game one?
Long story short, everything that encapsulated the Phillies over the past few years. An explosive start to the game that saw the team score 4 runs in the first inning and eventually jump out to a 7-1 lead, was eventually extinguished in ONE INNING after an embarrassing managerial call.
Joe Girardi made a move to put veteran James Norwood in the game and it backfired immensely. Corey Knebel was thrown in as an emergency measure but even that was too little, too late. The Phillies blew a six-run lead in one inning.
From a morale perspective, this is gut-wrenching but it’s going to do one of two things. Either A) Fire up the offense to put on the performance of a lifetime tonight, or B) Fold completely. Time to Flip a coin.
Pitching matchup
Kyle Gibson (2-1, 2.93 ERA) vs Max Scherzer (4-0, 2.61 ERA)
Okay, maybe the coin flip is a little one-sided. However, Max Scherzer got obliterated by the Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball…although the team was unable to do literally anything about it. After two Kyle Schwarber home runs and a solo shot from Bryce Harper, the Phillies still found a way to mess it up.
Scherzer is still one of the best in the game, and if we’re honest, he’s not going to have another howler against the Phillies. Even with that performance in the books, he still has a 2.61 ERA.
Gibson is going to need a huge game if the Phillies are going to be able to not only rebound from last night, but go toe-to-toe with Scherzer.
Betting preview
The Phillies are understandably underdogs tonight at +120 and the total for runs is projected at 7. Betting against the Phils after last night’s collapse with Scherzer on deck does feel like the smart play here, so our prediction is going to be betting the Mets -1.5 at -126.
Photo Credit: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
