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The Philadelphia Phillies are coming in at just 6-10 on the season as they travel to Chicago to face the Chicago White Sox. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Phillies-White Sox prediction, pick, and how-to watch.
The Phillies come in off a 14-3 win, which saw them score nine runs in the first inning. Bryson Stott started things right with a lead-off home run and the Phillies never looked back. This was a nice rebound from the 13-0 loss to the Red the day before in which they managed just five hits. The White Sox are also 6-10 on the season and lost two of three to the Orioles over the weekend. In that series, the White Sox saw their bullpen give up leads twice in the latter innings to lose.
Here are the Phillies-White Sox MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Phillies-White Sox Odds
Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (+136)
Chicago White Sox: +1.5 (-164)
Over: 8 (+102)
Under: 8 (-124)
How To Watch Phillies vs. White Sox
TV: NBCSP+/NBCSCH
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:10 PM ET/ 4:10 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread
The Phillies need to find offensive consistency. Maybe they will get that with the return of Bryce Harper, but until then, they have to start hitting daily. Currently, the Phillies lead baseball with a .293 batting average and are fourth in baseball with a .348 on-base percentage. While getting on base with a good clip, the Phillies are not scoring as much as they should. They are 11th in runs this year at 75. Of the top ten teams in on-base percentage, on the Cardinals are scoring at a lower rate.
The scoring has been done in bunches. Of their 75 runs, 37 of them come in a combined three games. That means 49.3% of their runs have come in 18.8% of their games. They have been shut out once, and have five others games with two or fewer runs. Alec Bohm is the current leader in RBIs. He is off to a great start with a .426 on-base percentage and 14 RBIs so far this year. Hitting even better is Brandon Marsh, who is currently hitting .378 on the year, and had an OBP of .440. Kyle Schwarber is still hitting bombs, with four home runs on the season. Those have only yielded nine RBIs though, as his hitting with runners on base has struggled some this year. That is possibly due to his team-leading 10 walks though.
Zach Wheeler will get his fourth start of the campaign today. He is currently 0-1 in his three starts with a 4.02 ERA. He has only pitched 15 2/3 innings on the year, striking out 18 in that time frame, but also giving up a 1.40 WHIP, which is one of the worst rates of his career. Wheeler has given up 15 hits so far on the year and needs to miss a few more bats to beat the White Sox today.
Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread
The White Sox are currently hitting .261 as a team, which is 8th in MLB, but they are missing their table setter with Tim Anderson currently out with an injury. They have lost four of their last five but did score 11 runs over the last two games, which is showing some improvement. Luis Robert Jr. has been showing off to start the year. He currently leads the team with 11 RBIs and five home runs, plus four doubles on the year. Adding to the RBIs and extra-base hits has been Andrew Vaughn, who has ten RBIs and seven doubles on the year. Vaughn is also second on the team in on-base percentage at .394 this year.
The biggest issue for the White Sox has been the bullpen this year. They are currently the worst in the league with a 7.57 ERA. They also have the worst WHIP in the league at 1.99. Shortstop Hanser Alberto is not helping the numbers, with 1.2 innings of pitching work, he has an ERA of 21.60. Jose Ruiz also had an ERA over 20 for the White Sox, but he was traded away already. Still, Jake Diekmann and Joe Kelly both have ERAs over 10, and relief pitchers have five of their losses this year.
Lance Lynn gets the start today, and he will want to work deep into the game to avoid the bullpen. Lynn's three starts this year have yet to result in a White Sox win. His last one was a nice rebound though. In the start against San Francisco, he gave up three home runs and eight runs overall in just 4 1/3 innings of work. He then came back and went six innings, giving up three runs and having ten strikeouts. Still, he gave up two home runs. He has to limit the long ball if he wants to get his first win today.
Final Phillies-White Sox Prediction & Pick
Both teams have shown the ability to score runs, and both have shown the ability to go completely dormant. The biggest concern today is how many home runs Lance Lynn is giving up. He has given up six home runs in 16 innings of work so far this year. That is one of the worst rates of his career. If he cannot limit the long ball today, the Phillies will take advantage. The Phillies have power bats, led by Schwarber. If they choose to pitch around Schwarber, Castellanos, and Marsh could make them pay. That is what will be seen today, as the Phillies hit a few home runs and get the win.
Final Phillies-White Sox Prediction & Pick: Phillies -1.5 (+136) and Over 8 (+100)
