Fresh out of the All-Star break, the Philadelphia Phillies are determined to win the NL East and compete for a top seed in the league. That means sending the Los Angeles Angels to the shadow realm.
At 48-50, Los Angeles is quickly fading from the playoff picture. Unless it can pile up a winning streak soon, it’s going to be dire at the deadline. Nobody likes to be on the chopping block. It’s do or die time. Philadelphia moves closer to making big deadline moves with each win. It’s are poised to make major splashes by the end of the month, as the push for the World Series continues.
The Phillies are -187 moneyline favorites at home on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Angels are +152 road underdogs. The total is set at 8.5 runs. Let’s go ahead and dig into a prediction for this Phillies vs. Angels contest.
Angels vs. Phillies prediction, preview
It’s poised to be an interesting pitching matchup on Sunday. The Angels send José Soriano to the mound, one of their more consistent starters. His power sinker propels him to a 67.3% ground ball rate, a 99th percentile mark in the majors. It keeps the long ball to a minimum; Soriano has only been taken deep four times across 113 innings this season.
Ranger Suárez is also familiar with limiting hard contact. His average exit velocity of 84.4 MPH is tops amongst all starting pitchers in MLB. Armed with a devastating array of pitches, he’s poised to feast on this mediorce Los Angeles batting order. Besides the fact that the Phillies are the superior team, their edge on the pitching mound makes them a strong bet.
Angels vs. Phillies pick, best bet
First Five Innings: Under 4.5 Total Runs (-120)
I fully expect Suárez to hold up his end of the bargain. One of baseball’s most consistent starters, he’s well-positioned for a great start in this contest. The burden falls on Soriano to hold up.
The Phillies aren’t a prolific home-run-hitting team, and I’m not counting on many long balls off Soriano. They do have some speed, but it’s nothing that Soriano cannot handle. The bullpens aren’t to be trusted in this game, but the starters should do enough to keep this one low-scoring in the early stages.
