The Philadelphia Phillies take on the Cleveland Guardians in the final game of a three-game series on Sunday, July 23. First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET from Progressive Field. Aaron Nola (9-6, 4.27 ERA) will take the mound for the Phillies, and Xzavion Curry (3-0, 2.86 ERA) will pitch for the Guardians.
Philly is the -145 moneyline favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Cleveland coming in at +125. The total is set at 8.5.
Phillies-Guardians picks: Sunday, July 23
Injury report
Phillies
Out: RP Jose Alvarado (elbow), RP Seranthony Dominguez (oblique), OF Cristian Pache (elbow)
Guardians
Out: SP Shane Bieber (elbow), SP Cal Quantrill (shoulder)
Starting pitchers
Aaron Nola vs. Xzavion Curry
Nola had a good start to July against the Rays, though he then faltered against the Marlins. In his latest start, he allowed two earned runs in 7.1 innings to the Brewers and recorded six strikeouts. Nola has no issues with longevity on the mound.
Curry has been coming out of the bullpen for most of the season, and just notched his first start against the Pirates last week. He kept them scoreless over three innings. We can expect this to be more of a bullpen game for the Guardians. Their bullpen is one of the best in the league, with an ERA of 3.46, behind just the Yankees.
Over/Under pick
The totals of the first two games of this series were 11 and 1, and I’m going more with the latter for today’s game. If Nola looks solid, he should be able to stifle this Guardians offense, who scored just a single run yesterday after a recent hot streak. The Cleveland bullpen has also been very reliable this year.
Pick: Under 8.5
Moneyline pick
The Guardians have taken the first two games of the series, 6-5 and 1-0. This is a tough pick. Nola, usually a stalwart on the mound, has faltered several times in his last few starts. The Cleveland bullpen is very, very good this year, and the Guardians’ lineup has been on fire lately, scoring 32 runs in their four games preceding last night’s matchup. I think Cleveland has the power to sweep at home here.
Pick: Guardians +125