In the later slate of today’s 10-game MLB slate, the Philadelphia Phillies will open up a series with the Seattle Mariners, with first pitch scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET. This marks the first matchup of the season between these two interleague opponents.
Looking at the odds for the Monday night matchup, the Phillies enter as -108 favorites and hold +158 odds on the -1.5 run line on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Mariners hold +101 odds to win outright, with the run total set at 6.5.
Phillies at Mariners prediction, preview
After an ugly start to the season, the Philadelphia Phillies look to be finding their stride at the right time. They enter with a 73-58 record on the season and are looking to ride the momentum of their current nine-game winning streak. Philadelphia is currently 3.0 games behind the Braves for the top spot in the National League East, and it holds a two-game advantage for the final Wild Card spot. On the season overall, the Phillies are 54-77 to the run line, and the run total is 60-63-8 to the over/under.
Zack Wheeler will get the start for the Phillies tonight, marking his 22nd of the season. The three-time All-Star enters with a 10-4 record, a 2.92 ERA, a 1.006 WHIP, 15 home runs allowed and 144 strikeouts tallied across his 120.1 innings pitched. Wheeler has struggled a bit as of late, with a 5.60 ERA across his past six starts, but he has earned his place in the conversation as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He has faced off with this Mariners team in 58 at-bats in his career, allowing 10 hits and recording 19 strikeouts across these opportunities, limiting them to slash lines of .172/.226/.207 overall.
Looking at the production at the plate, the Phillies are slashing a collective .243/.314/.404 with a .718 OPS at the plate. They rank 18th in the league in hits, 10th in total runs, 11th in home runs and 15th in strikeouts tallied. Trea Turner leads the team with 127 hits on the season, along with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs. Brandon Marsh adds 125 hits, plus 17 home runs and 55 RBIs, while Bryce Harper contributes 119 hits, 26 home runs and 75 RBIs. Kyle Schwarber leads the MLB with 39 home runs on the season, while Alec Bohm has been red-hot at the plate. Luis Arraez has provided a nice stylistic contrast in the lineup and was the biggest addition at the trade deadline, while Bryson Stott and J.T. Realmuto also play key roles.
The Seattle Mariners enter with a 62-69 record on the season. They trail both the Astros and Rangers for the top seed in the American League West, and are also three games back from the final Wild Card seed. Seattle is coming off a 19-2 loss to the Cubs yesterday, but it won back-to-back games before this. It is 3-3 across its past six games, but it offers a -38 run differential across this stretch as it was also defeated 22-0 at the hands of the Brewers. On the season overall, the Mariners have gone an MLB-worst 49-82 to the run line, and the run total is 67-57-7 to the over/under.
Logan Gilbert will take the mound for the Mariners tonight, marking his 26th of the season. The former All-Star enters with a 10-7 record, a 3.35 ERA, a 1.011 WHIP, 20 home runs allowed and 157 strikeouts tallied across 150.1 innings pitched. Gilbert has also hit a bit of a rough patch, as he has allowed three or more earned runs in five of his past seven starts. He has struggled in this matchup in his career, as the Mariners starter has faced the Phillies in 93 at-bats with 22 hits allowed and 28 strikeouts tallied.
Looking at their production at the plate, the Mariners are slashing a collective .229/.309/.375 with a .684 OPS. Seattle ranks 28th in the league in hits, last in total runs, 16th in home runs, and it has tallied the eighth-most strikeouts. Josh Naylor leads the team with 127 hits on the season, along with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs. Randy Arozarena adds 120 hits of his own, along with 20 home runs and 58 RBIs, while Cole Young contributes 120 hits, 15 home runs and 56 RBIs. Julio Rodriguez has 117 hits of his own, while Dominic Canzone, Cal Raleigh and Victor Robles also play key roles.
Phillies at Mariners pick, best bet
The Phillies failed to play to their caliber of talent for the bulk of the season, but they have found their stride as of late. There is some magic to their recent winning streak. Not only has it won nine consecutive games, but Philadelphia has found a variety of ways to do it. It was down to its last out and trailing by four runs in the ninth inning yesterday, only to rally and set the stage for Kyle Schwarber to deliver with a walk-off home run. There has been a collective shift in the plate approach from this Phillies roster, as they have become less dependent on home run production and leaned into small-ball more. Philadelphia leads the MLB in on-base percentage across the month of August after ranking last in the league in this category for the bulk of the year.
Zack Wheeler will take the ball for the Phillies, and even with him having a bit of a lull in the season, he remains one of the most elite pitchers in baseball. The Phillies are 15-6 in games Wheeler has started this season, and the run support has been much more promising from Philadelphia as of late compared to the start of the season.
The Seattle Mariners have failed to cover the run line in eight consecutive home games and at the worst rate across the MLB all season. Logan Gilbert is a talented pitcher in solid form, but he has had some struggles against some of the Phillies’ top bats. Seattle’s run support has left plenty to be desired, as it ranks last in the MLB in total runs and it has been held to two or fewer runs in nine of its past 18.
Expect Wheeler to pull his weight on the mound and for the bats to remain hot for the Phillies as they face off with this vulnerable Mariners squad. Run production has been far too inconsistent for Seattle all year, and Philadelphia is playing its best baseball of the season. Count on both of these teams to continue trending in opposite directions and for the Phillies to extend their winning streak to 10 games.
Best bet: Philadelphia Phillies Moneyline (-108)
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