After winning only their third series of the year, the Philadelphia Phillies look to keep the good times rolling out west as they head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers.
Game preview
The Dodgers currently have the best record in the NL West at 20-9 and on top of that, are 10-2 at home, which is the best home record in the entire league. The Phils are a little less stable on the road at 5-8, but a big series against the Mariners gave them two wins to add to that total.
The Phillies come into this series playing some great baseball. The shock of what happened one week ago seems to have faded and the team is rallying offensively. They rank 4th leaguewide in home runs over the last seven days and 6th in overall batting percentage. Sprinkle in some pitching goodness and the Fightins seem to be heating up behind the likes of Rhys Hoskins.
The bad news is that L.A leads the league in pitching ERA (1.78) and the first matchup won’t exactly be an easy one.
Pitching matchup
Zack Wheeler (1-3, 4.10 ERA) vs Tyler Anderson (3-0, 2.78 ERA)
Zack Wheeler is back after a brief stint on the COVID list and will be dropped right into the deep end against the Dodgers. They rank 4th in the MLB in runs over the past week and although Wheeler has not allowed a run in either of his last 2 starts, it’s hard to imagine him being able to blanket the Dodgers.
Meanwhile, Tyler Anderson will be making start #4 of the year and will be hoping to keep his win-streak alive. He’s been lights-out for the Dodgers up to this point, striking out batters for fun and silencing anyone in his path.
Betting odds
The run total sitting at 8 feels way too high given the pitchers who will be taking the mound. Yes, both offenses are potent, but a 4-3 kinda game feels very likely here. I’ll happily take the action on the under, backing two more solid pitching contributions from the starters.
Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire
