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The Philadelphia Phillies are on the road to take on the Tampa Bay Rays! It's time to continue our MLB 0dds series with a Phillies-Rays prediction and pick.
The Phillies have found their groove. After a very slow start to the campaign, the Phillies have stormed back above .500 with a (46-39) record. They already won the first two games of this series and have won seven of their last 10 games. Just four games ago, the Phillies scored 19 runs to beat the Washington Nationals. The offense has shown they can score runs and that will be crucial for them as the second half of the season is underway.
The Rays still contain the top record in baseball. At (57-32), Tampa Bay leads the AL East Division but not by as much as they used to. Tampa holds just a five-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles as the Rays have lost six of their last 10 games. They are playing their worst stretch of baseball right now but it won't last long. Tampa aims to get back on track tonight to avoid the sweep.
Here are the Phillies-Rays MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Phillies-Rays Odds
Philadelphia Phillies: +1.5 (-176)
Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+146)
Over: 9.5 (+102)
Under: 9.5 (-124)
How To Watch Phillies vs. Rays
TV: Ball Sports Sun, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Stream: MLB Extra Innings, MLB TV
Time: 6:40 ET/3:40 PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread
Christopher Sanchez gets the start for the Phillies tonight. This will be the left-hander's fifth start of the season as he is hoping to earn his first-career win. Sanchez is (0-2) with a 3.26 ERA in 19.1 innings. The southpaw is coming off the best start of his career where he allowed just seven hits in six innings against the Washington Nationals. Pitching a quality start that early into your career is special and if he can continue to pitch as he did against Washington, then he'll have them in a position to cover this spread.
Trea Turner smashed a home run last night in the 8-4 win. After an incredible World Baseball Classic from Turner, he has not transferred that over to his new team in the Phillies. He's batting only .248 with nine homers and 30 RBIs on the season. His .689 OPS is 130th in baseball which is not what we expected from the former World Champion at all. If Turner can find a way to get on base more and become the hitter we thought he would be, then this Phillies' lineup becomes very scary. It wasn't very long ago when they were two wins away from being on top of the world.
Nick Castellanos continues his elite season. He leads the team with a .310 batting average (7th in MLB) and is 18th in the MLB with his .866 OPS.
Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread
Starting for the Rays tonight is Shawn Armstrong. The right-hander will open for the Rays as their injuries have forced them to be down a few starters. Armstrong pitched very well in his 12 appearances. In 15.2 innings on the season, he has a 1.15 ERA with 15 strikeouts. The Rays may need him to pitch two or even three innings today, as their bullpen has been taxed all series.
The offense has slowed down tremendously after a hot start to the year. In the month of July, they only scored a combined 14 runs. All-Stars Wander Franco, Yandy Diaz, and Randy Arozarena continue to do their thing, but the rest of the lineup is struggling. Taylor Walls dropped his average down to .211 and Issac Paredes is down to .264. Jose Siri is batting only .223 as well so if the Rays want to continue to be dominant, they can't just rely on their pitching. Some of these players need to step up and find a way to get this dynamic offense back on track.
Final Phillies-Rays Prediction & Pick
The Phillies are playing better ball at the moment but it's very hard to sweep the best team in baseball. I think both teams find ways to score runs so taking the over is the best call on the board.
Final Phillies-Rays Prediction & Pick: Over 9.5 (+102)
