Coming into this past weekend, the Phillies were red hot. Unfortunately, they ran into an even hotter Mets team, who took two games and won the series against Philadelphia this weekend.
Now, the Phillies look to get back on the winning track against an inferior team in the Cincinnati Reds to kick off the week. Yesterday, Noah Syndergaard had his best start as a Phillie as the offense (mainly Edmundo Sosa) scored four runs to hold off the Reds, 4-3. Now, the Phillies hope to carry this momentum into game two of the series at 6:40pm tonight.
Probable Pitchers:
Phillies Kyle Gibson (7-5, 4.29 ERA, 91 SO) vs. Reds T.J. Zeuch (0-1, 13.50 ERA, 4 SO)
Kyle Gibson takes the mound for Philadelphia today and is coming off three straight quality starts. Most recently, he allowed three runs (only two earned) in six innings of work against the Marlins. This will be Gibby’s first start against Cincinnati in his entire career.
He’s also only faced four batters on their team in their career, all with very small sample sizes, so this will be pretty much a clean slate and first time for Gibby. Righties are hitting the right-hander better than lefties have this year (.227 average vs. a .248 average), so it’s likely that the Reds slip an extra righty into their lineup as well.
On the flip side, T.J. Zeuch will get the nod for Cincinnati today. Zeuch has a total of 14 appearances ( 8 starts) in his four year career. He hasn’t had much success at the big league level quite yet. After being waived by the St. Louis Cardinals at the end of May, the Reds signed him on June 2nd. Since then, he’s primarily lived in the minor leagues.
Zeuch was called up to face the Mets last week, where he did not look too hot. He allowed six runs on six hits en route to a 10-2 Reds loss.
Betting Preview and Picks
Like yesterday, the Phillies need to use this game to break out of their slump. The four runs they scored yesterday were the only four runs they’ve scored in their last 27 innings. It’s time to follow the Mets’ lead and rock Zeuch for an offensive breakout on Dinger Tuesday.
Even after the tough stretch, their offense still stands out. They have one of the hottest lineups in baseball, have scored the eighth-most runs in the entire league (sixth in NL), and have a top-11 team batting average. Expect these numbers to hold true against a struggling and inexperienced TJ Zeuch.
Phillies Lineup
No one in the Phillies lineup has faced Zeuch in their career. However, the majority of the damage against Zeuch, in his career, has been while facing left-handed batters.
I correctly predicted Casty to get a hit yesterday against the Reds, and parlayed it for a Phillies win. If you tailed, you doubled your money. Now, there’s one Phillie in particular that I’m eyeing up to get a hit today.
After a three-hit performance yesterday, Bryson Stott has a hit in eight straight games, where he’s accumulated 15 total hits in that span. Stott is white-hot, and a lefty bat. Given his new leadoff spot while Kyle Schwarber is sidelined, it’d be wise to ride the hot hand into today’s matchup.
For the second day in a row, I’ll personally be backing the Phillies moneyline, and parlaying it with Stott to get a hit. Given the history and the Phillies offense due to break out, I love this bet.
Unfortunately, Vegas also is all over this bet. A $10 bet on that two-leg parlay would win you about $9 on Fanduel. This being said, though, it could still be an easy way to nearly double your money and continue our hot streak deeper into the week.
If you would like a little more value, you could also look at Brandon Marsh to get a hit. He’s currently sitting at -180 to get on base at least once. Or, you could look at Bryson Stott o1.5 bases (-104), meaning he’ll hit at least two singles or one hit of a double or better. Perhaps a dinger (+370) on Dinger Tuesday?
All in all, if you do decide that you can join the action, make sure to do so with one of the promo offer links below. Your bets can be risk free!
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Dean
