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Two teams battling for playoff spots out of the NL East square off, as the Philadelphia Phillies visit the Miami Marlins. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with a Phillies-Marlins prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Phillies enter the game losers of two straight as they lost two of three to the Pirates over the weekend. It was a tight series with the Pirates, with all three games being decided by two or fewer runs. In the last game of the series on Sunday, the Phillies had two different two-run leads that the Pirates came back from until they walked it off in the bottom of the tenth inning. The Phillies have now won just four of their last ten games and sit at 56-49 on the season. That places them 12 games behind the Braves in the division, but just a half-game behind the Brewers and Marlins for the last playoff spot. With the trade deadline coming in under 36 hours, the Phillies are expected to make some moves to get back into the playoffs again.
Meanwhile, the Marlins come in after taking two of three from the Tigers over the weekend. While celebrating the return of the 2003 World Series star Miguel Cabrera, the Marlins were able to win twice with the help of their two newly acquired relievers. Still, they have won just four of their last ten games as well, placing them at 57-49 on the season. That is 11.5 games back from the Braves, but a half-game up on the Phillies for the final wild-card spot. The Marlins should be better down the stretch though, as parts of their opening-day line-up return from injuries.
Here are the Phillies-Marlins MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Phillies-Marlins Odds
Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (+142)
Miami Marlins: +1.5 (-172)
Over: 8 (-108)
Under: 8 (-112)
How To Watch Phillies vs. Marlins
TV: NBCSP/BSFL
Stream: MLB.TV/ESPN+
Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread
It was the pitching over the weekend that cost the Phillies two games, and has been an issue in many of their losses as of late. Over the weekend the Phillies gave up ten runs in the two losses, and have given up five or more runs in four of their last seven losses. On the season, the pitching has been solid though. The Phillies are 11th in team ERA, fourth in WHIP, and eighth in opponent batting average. They also sit eighth in quality starts on the season. Taijuan Walker will bring his 11-4 record with a 4.06 ERA to the mound today for the Phillies. After winning seven straight decisions, he does not have a win in his last two starts. Still, he has pitched fairly well. Last time out he went 5.2 innings giving up two runs but taking the no-decision.
On the offensive end, the Phillies would love to score some more runs. They are tied for 17th in runs scored this year, with a tenth-ranked batting average, and 13th-ranked on-base percentage. The Phillies also sit 13th in slugging as well. Alec Bohm is coming in hot to this game. He is hitting .326 on the month with a .402 on-base percentage. Bohm has driven in 17 runs this month with the help of three home runs and four doubles. Meanwhile, Bohm has also scored 15 times this month. Yesterday Bohm did hit a two-run home run and drove in another run in the losing effort. It hit a first home run since July 1st.
Joining Bohm in hitting well is Johan Rojas. The 22-year-old rookie got the call-up to the bigs on July 15th and has hit well since. He is hitting .348 on the month with three runs scored and four RBIs. Rojas has also stolen three bases this month. He does need to work a little on his plate vision though. Rojas has struck out five times this month and has yet to draw a walk. On the note of strikeouts, Nick Castellanos has been doing a lot of that. He struck out eight times in the series with the Pirates and has struck out 35 times this month. He is hitting just .162 on the month with four home runs and 11 RBIs. The Phillies will be looking to get him back on track in this one.
Why The Marlins Could Cover The Spread
Like the Phillies, the Marlins would like to score some more runs. While having the third-best batting average as a team, they sit 14th in on-base percentage, 21st and slugging, and 26th in runs scored this year. Bryan De La Cruz has been helping to drive in runs over the last month, but not hitting exceptionally well. De La Cruz is hitting just .222 on the month with a .260 on-base percentage. Still, he has driven in 14 runs this month with the help of five home runs and five doubles. He has also scored ten times this month.
Meanwhile, Jon Berti is coming into this game hot. He is hitting .419 on the month with five RBIs. He also has four doubles and a triple on the month, leading to him scoring 11 times on the month. His fellow middle infielder Luis Arraez is also still hitting well. Arraez is hitting .337 on the month, which while good is well below his league leading season average. He has also driven in 12 runs this month with the help of eight doubles and a triple. Arraez has scored six runs as well.
On the mound for the Marlins, today will be Edward Cabrera. Cabrera is 5-6 on the year with a 4.74 ERA. Cabrera struggled in his last outing. He went just two innings and gave up three runs before being pulled from the game due to a blister on his pitching hand. Cabrera has not won since June 7th, going 0-2 with a no-decision since then.
Final Phillies-Marlins Prediction & Pick
The Phillies do have a slight pitching edge in this matchup, but many of the Phillies are struggling at the plate. The amount of strikeouts in the last week should be a cause for concern for the Phillies as they look to make a run in the division. At the same time, the Marlins have struggled with runners in scoring position, leading to their struggles as of late. Expect this one to be a close game, so with that take the extra runs with the Marlins in this one.
Final Phillies-Marlins Prediction & Pick: Marlins +1.5 (-172)
