The Philadelphia Phillies take are taking trip to face the Pittsburgh Pirates today in the first of a four-game series. After a 2-1 series win against Atlanta, the Phils look to keep momentum rolling against their local rivals.
The Pirates, like the Phils, were just swept by the Cubs. The Pirates have been disappointing this season and only have 40 wins to their name. They’re 2-8 in their last 10 and are just bad across the board. It’s not like their offense is rolling but their pitching is weak. They rank 28th in slugging, 28th in opposing ERA, 28th in on-base percentage, and 29th in batting average. No matter where you look, it’s messy.
This should be a cleanup spot for the Phils, who are looking to climb up the wildcard ladder as the second half of the season rolls on. Their offense has been exceptional this year, ranking 8th in runs per game. Provided that they can keep the momentum built against the Braves rolling, the odds favor the Phils here.
Pitching matchup
Zack Wheeler (8-5, 2.78 ERA) vs. Zach Thompson (3-7, 4.64 ERA)
Nothing says a Phils win like a pitching mismatch on Wheelsday. Wheeler has been brilliant this season and has a 9.6k/9 through 18 starts. Compare this to the 6.1k/9 of Thompson and it’s easy to see where the opportunity lies. You don’t need too many advanced metrics to see that this series is all about the Phils.
Betting preview
The Phillies are predictably heavily favored going into tonight’s matchup, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bet behind them. They’re 25-22 road, and 32-27 favorite. Stack that on top of the blatant mismatch here and this should be a comfortable win.
Betting $50 the Phillies at -196 would net you a $75 return. If you sign up to DraftKings using the link below, you can actually get a FREE $50 bet, so it’s theoretically an easy way to turn a FREE $50 into $75…provided that one of the most chaotic teams in baseball don’t play with our hearts again.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum
