The Philadelphia Phillies are red-hot, entering tonight’s game on an eight-game winning streak and now holding the best record in MLB. The Athletics fall on the other end of this spectrum, entering tonight’s matchup on a 10-game losing streak.
These two teams will face off tonight in the second game of the series. Philadelphia produced a 4-3 victory in the series opener, despite a three-run ninth inning to put the game in danger.
The Phillies are -175 favorites while the Athletics hold +145 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under for the matchup is set at 10 runs.
Athletics vs. Phillies prediction, preview
Cristopher Sanchez will make his 10th start of the season for the Phillies. While he can be overshadowed by a loaded Phillies pitching staff, Sanchez has built off last year’s All-Star campaign. He holds a 4-1 record and has pitched 49.1 total innings thus far. Sanchez has struck out 59 and allowed 17 earned runs, posting a 3.10 ERA.
The Athletics are expected to start Jeffrey Springs for the 11th time this season. He is posting a 3.91 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 23 earned runs allowed across 53 innings. Springs struggled a bit to start the season, allowing three or more earned runs in five of his first six starts, but has settled in and conceded just four total earned runs across his past four starts.
Philadelphia’s offense ranks eighth in total runs, fifth in hits, seventh in walks, eighth in strikeouts and 12th in home runs. After a slow start to the season, Bryce Harper has turned a corner and is playing some of his best baseball. Over the past week, he is hitting .407 with a 1.120 OPS while leading the National League in hits and doubles. Kyle Schwarber is tied for the most home runs in baseball with 17, and is slashing .251/.394/.563 on the season overall. Trea Turner is hitting .310 on the season with two or more hits in four of his past five games.
The Athletics rank sixth in hits, 15th in runs, eighth in home runs, 17th in walks, and have struck out the fourth-fewest times. Jacob Wilson headlines the team’s offensive production with a team-high 64 hits and is slashing .335/.374/.466. Brent Rooker leads the team with 11 home runs, while Tyler Soderstrom has 10 of his own and a team-high 30 RBI.
Athletics vs. Phillies pick, best bet
While the weak schedule should be acknowledged amid this Phillies’ winning streak, they are still playing great baseball right now. They have only allowed more than five runs in three of their past 17 games, and the offense has held up its end of the bargain. Sanchez has not given up more than four runs in a start this season and has mowed down more intimidating lineups than the Athletics.
In contrast, the bats have gone cold for the Athletics. They have not tallied more than five runs in any of their past 10 games, which have each resulted in losses. The pitching staff has been a notable concern with the Athletics ranking 29th in runs allowed and 28th in home runs conceded on the season. This is a concern against a Phillies offense that has found its stride.
Philadelphia has gotten the better of this matchup in five of the last six games. It also has won 28 of the 42 (66.7%) games it has been favored this year and 18 of the 21 (85.7%) when favored by -173 odds or greater. In contrast, the Athletics have only won 13 of the 34 games (38.2%) they have been underdogs.
These are two teams trending in opposite directions, so count on the Phillies to take advantage of this. Look for the bats to come alive a bit more than the four-run outing last night and for Sanchez to keep the game under control. I am backing the -1.5 run line and expecting better results from the bullpen compared to Jordan Romano’s late-inning struggles, which kept the door open last night.
Best bet: Phillies -1.5 (-110) vs. Athletics
Bonus: I am backing Bryce Harper to record 2+ total bases -110 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Harper was visibly frustrated last night after getting hit by a pitch in two separate at-bats and ending the game without a hit. He has tallied two or more bases in seven of the past nine games before this. Look for him to get back on track in the second matchup of the series. Tonight will mark Harper’s first time facing Springs, but he is hitting .321 in May with 1.2 hits per game, seven doubles and three home runs.
