The 2023 Phillies complete betting guide for the second half of the season

Now that the Phillies had a duo of players and their manager show out at the 2023 MLB All-Star Game, it’s officially time to fully direct our attention to the second half of the season.

After yet another slow start to the season, the Phillies again kicked it into hyperdrive for the months of June and July. At the end of May, the Phils were five games under .500 with a 25-30 record. Fast forward about five weeks later, and now they sit at 47-41 and only a 0.5 game out of a playoff spot.

MLB Phillies — Members of the Philadelphia Phillies including Bryce Harper, right, and Kyle Schwarber, second from left, celebrate in the clubhouse after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals to win a National League wild-card baseball playoff series, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

If history does truly repeat itself, the Phillies will follow this trend of getting better as the season goes on. At the end of May 2022, the Phillies sat on a 21-29 record and fired manager Joe Girardi. Rob Thomson took over, won 66 of his remaining 112 games from June to September, and the rest is history. If they follow the same prompt as last season, they’ll finish around 90 wins, which should sneak them into another Red October.

If you are looking to back the Phillies getting red hot in the depths of Summer once again, here are some of the best bets to make heading into the second half of the season.

Phillies Nick Castellanos, who is playing in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game — Philadelphia Phillies’ Nick Castellanos (8) celebrates with teammates after scoring on an Edmundo Sosa single during the third inning of the team’s baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Phillies Betting Odds

To make the playoffs bets

The easiest, and most obvious bet for fans to look at would be the “To make the playoffs- Yes” bet that Bet365 is currently offering. As of now, Philadelphia is -280 to make it, which is not a very valuable play for the average bettor. You’d have to bet $280 just to profit $100, showing Vegas’ faith in the Phightins.

However, a couple of other places you could look that are more profitable are at divisional opponents NOT to play meaningful October baseball. It would be silly to bet the Braves one way or another, as they are dominating and already at 60 wins for the season.

However, the Miami Marlins are +165 not to make the playoffs, which could be a valuable play for a team that has the seventh hardest remaining schedule, after playing the sixth easiest to start the season, per MLB Power Rankings Guru.

And just for fun, you could take the Mets not to make the playoffs at -600. Even though you wouldn’t profit much money, it would make the Mets not making the playoffs even more enjoyable as a Phils fan.

Phillies Bryce Harper — Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper celebrates after his RBI double during the fifth inning in Game 4 of the baseball NL Championship Series between the San Diego Padres and the Phillies on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bets to look out for

You can find all sorts of fun bets on Bet365 before the second half of the season kicks off Friday night. On the app, you can find “Division Finishing Positions” props, and take the Phillies to finish second in the division at +110. If you’re like me and love the plus-sign plays, this one is the one for you.

If you also think the winner of the World Series will come from the NL East, you can bet just that at +240. If you want to take the Phillies outright, they’ll get you great value at +1400.

For a little more fun, you can also take Kyle Schwarber’s total number of home runs hit. Currently sitting at 22 on the season, his live homers line is 37.5 at -110. His batting average may not be there, but he can still hit dingers like the best of ’em.