The Philadelphia Phillies lead the league in scoring and will look to continue to stay hot at the plate against Washington Nationals by starting pitcher, Jake Irvin, in their series opener at home on Friday.
Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies (-270, 7.5)
Irvin enters Friday’s start with a 3.20 fielding independent, which is lower than his 3.55 ERA, allowing just 0.8 home runs and 1.6 walks per nine innings. But he is also getting just 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
The challenge for Irvin is to limit a lineup that is averaging nearly 5.3 runs per game overall this season and just under 5.6 runs per game at home with plate discipline being a big reason for the success, ranking third in the league in percentage of plate appearances that result in a walk.
Zack Wheeler will oppose Irvin for the Phillies, who overall has a 2.53 ERA, but enters Friday having surrendered at least three earned runs in three of his past seven starts and at least three runs, whether they be earned or unearned, in four of his past eight starts.
Backing up Wheeler is a bullpen that has a 4.44 ERA, which ranks 22nd in the league, and as a team, the Phillies ERA is far higher at home than on the road.
The Phillies have a 3.49 home ERA compared to a 2.85 ERA on the road, but they are aided by an offense that entered Thursday having scored at least four runs in 11 of their past 12 games.
With the Phillies lineup in peak form and their bullpen being far from peak form, Friday’s series opener will be a high-scoring contest.
The Play: Nationals vs. Phillies Over 7.5 Runs
See which team DraftKings bettors are backing.