The San Francisco Giants take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of a three-game series on Monday, August 21. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET from Citizens Bank Park in Philly. Reliever Scott Alexander (6-2, 4.06 ERA) will once again serve as the opener for the Giants before giving way to Sean Manaea, while Aaron Nola (10-8, 4.58) goes for the Phillies.
Philly enters as -142 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, with San Francisco coming in at +120. The total is set at 8.5.
Giants-Phillies picks: Monday, August 21
Injury report
Giants
Out: OF Mike Yastrzemski (hamstring), OF/DH AJ Pollock (oblique), SP Anthony DeSclafani (elbow), RP John Brebbia (lat), OF Mitch Haniger (forearm)
Phillies
Out: OF Brandon Marsh (knee), SP Ranger Suarez (hamstring), RP Jose Alvarado (elbow/hand), OF Cristian Pache (elbow), 1B Rhys Hoskins (knee)
Starting pitchers
Aaron Nola vs. Scott Alexander
Nola allowed four runs in five innings in his latest start, a road outing against the Blue Jays. Earlier this month, he allowed five runs in 5.1 innings against the Royals. However, his strikeout numbers have stayed high — he recorded seven and eight Ks in those games, respectively. He also held the Nationals to one run in five innings and recorded six strikeouts in August.
Alexander has largely been used as a reliever this season, and even counting his starts, he has never reached the two-inning mark. We can expect this to be yet another bullpen game for the Giants, who boast a bullpen ERA of 3.68. Lefty Sean Manaea (4-3, 4.89) is a candidate to handle the bulk innings after firing 3.1 scoreless innings against the Rays last week.
Over/Under pick
The Phillies rank 12th in runs per game, and the Giants don’t even crack the top 20 after a very sluggish August at the plate. With the Phillies on their home field facing a beaten-down pitching rotation, I think they can run the score up a bit. They tallied up 22 runs in their latest series, and should be able to keep that momentum going as they look to stay atop the NL Wild Card standings.
Pick: Over 8.5
Moneyline pick
The Phillies recently dropped two of three against the Nationals, and the Giants dropped two of three against the Braves. The Giants have been seriously struggling, having lost their last five series. They’ve been even worse on the road, and as their pitching rotation deals with injuries, they’ve had to turn to the bullpen for a heavy workload. I’ll take Nola and the Phillies at home.
Pick: Phillies -142