The Philadelphia Phillies fell 6-3 in their series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Can they level the playing field to avoid a potential series sweep against one of the hottest teams in baseball?
Phillies vs Diamondbacks info
Date: Tuesday, May 23rd
Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
TV channel: MLB TV, NBCSP
Phillies vs Diamondbacks Betting odds
Money line: Philadelphia Phillies (-150) | Arizona Cardinals (+130)
Run Line: Philadelphia Phillies -1.5 (+135) | Arizona Cardinals +1.5 (-155)
Run total: Over/Under 9.5 (-110)
Pitching matchup
Matt Strahm (4-3, 2.73 ERA) vs Ryne Nelson 1-2, 5.48 ERA)
The Phillies have had their fair share of pitching woes this season, but Matt Strahm has accounted for very few of those. His flowing locks maintain a 2.73 ERA through 33 innings pitched and despite making some noise away from the baseball field by speaking his mind, his performances on it have been stellar up to this point.
His opponent today is Ryne Nelson, who had an excellent outing in his last start, allowing only one hit in 5 innings against Oakland. However, that was only the second game he’s allowed fewer than 3 runs this season, which should ring some alarm bells for the Cardinals.
Phillies vs Diamondbacks Betting preview
Coming into this series, Arizona sat just 24th in opposing slugging percentage and 30th in extra bases allowed. Zack Wheeler was unable to take advantage of these and instead fell victim to an otherwise potent offense. Lordes Gurriel Jr. pumped in 4 hits and has extended his batting average to .321 on the season. His name has to be circled in red for Strahm. Gurriel Jr. is -250 to record a hit today and +700 to record a home run.
As for the Phillies, it may be time to look at Bryce Harper, who is once again batting over .300 on the year after recording a hit in the series opener. He’s only recorded two home runs this year and is +280 to hit a third this evening. Considering the pitching matchup, this is favorable for the NL MVP.
The easy play here should theoretically to back the over. Yesterday’s total of 9 resulted in a ‘push’, but today’s pitching matchup features two far less intimidating names. The Cardinals offense ranks 5th in the entire league in batting and the Phils aren’t too far behind. Betting the over in a game where pitching isn’t exactly a strong suit and both offenses have the ability to explode certainly feels like the right call.
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AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
