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The Philadelphia Phillies are on the road to take on the Atlanta Braves Thursday night. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Phillies-Braves prediction and pick. We will also let you know how to watch the game.
Phillies-Braves Projected Starters
Jesus Luzardo vs. Spencer Schwellenbach
Jesus Luzardo (2-0) with a 1.50 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 12.0 innings pitched, 4 walks, 19 strikeouts, .167 oBA
Last Start: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Win, 7.0 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Away Splits: 1 start, 1-0, 5.0 innings, pitched, 5 hits allowed, 2 runs, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts
Spencer Schwellenbach (1-0) with a 0.00 ERA, 0.29 WHIP, 14.0 innings pitched, 1 walk, 14 strikeouts, .068 oBA
Last Start: vs. Miami Marlins: Win, 8 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts
Home Splits: See above.
Here are the MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Phillies-Braves Odds
Philadelphia Phillies: +1.5 (-184)
Moneyline: +110
Atlanta Braves: -1.5 (+152)
Moneyline: -130
Over: 7.5 (-112)
Under: 7.5 (-108)
How to Watch Phillies vs. Braves
Time: 7:15 PM ET/4:15 PM PT
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, FanDuel Sports Network Southeast
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why The Phillies Will Cover The Spread/Win
Jesus Luzardo has been dominant this season. He opened up the year with an 11-strikeout performance, and he followed that up with a dominant performance against one of the best teams in baseball. He has a very high whiff rate, a very high chase rate, and he does a pretty good job keeping the ball on the ground. Luzardo has one of the hottest hands on the pitching mound right now, and the Phillies need him to keep that up. If he can continue to get strikeouts and forcing hitters to chase, the Phillies will win.
Philadelphia has one of the better offenses in the MLB. They are fourth in the MLB in batting average, fifth in OPS, fifth in walks drawn, and they have struck out the seventh-fewest times in baseball. Philadelphia has a very tough matchup in this game, but the Phillies are a tough offense. Philadelphia does a great job staying in the strike zone and not chasing while also working the count. If they can force Schwellenbach to throw a lot of pitches early, they will have some success at the plate.
Why The Braves Will Cover The Spread/Win
Schwellenbach is looking like a Cy Young candidate early on this season. He has allowed just three total hits in his two starts, and he has one total walk. The right-hander is getting a lot of chases out of the zone, a lot of whiffs, a lot of weak contact, and he has a ground ball rate of 60.0 percent. He is at his best right now, and he is showing no signs of slowing down. If Schwellenbach continues to be dominant on the mound, he will be able to shut down the Phillies and lead the Braves to a win.
The Braves are still not playing their best, but they have been hot at the plate in their last four games. In that time span, Atlanta is batting .314 with a team .859 OPS. They are averaging four walks drawn per game, and they have 13 extra-base hits in those four games. With that, they are averaging 5.0 runs per game. The Braves have to continue to be tough outs at the plate. Luzardo will not be easy to hit off, but if they can scratch across three or four runs, it will be enough for Schwellenbach to get the win.
Final Phillies-Braves Prediction & Pick
This is a fantastic pitching matchup. I am expecting both pitchers to shove and keep this score low. With that said, I do trust the Phillies offense a little bit more. I will take Philadelphia's moneyline.
Final Phillies-Braves Prediction & Pick: Phillies ML (+110)
