It is a weekend series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Dodgers-Phillies prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Dodgers come into the game off a 6-0 win over the Reds that broke a four-game losing streak. It was vintage Clayton Kershaw yesterday, as he went seven innings and struck out nine batters in the victory. Freddie Freeman drove in two runs, while David Peralta went four for five at the plate. The offense continued to produce for the Dodgers, as they have been over their recent struggle, but this time, they got quality pitching to go with it.
The Phillies come in of a sweep of the Tigers, with a walk-off win in the final game. Kody Clemens came through in the clutch to deliver the Phillis the win. After a five-game losing streak, the Phillies have now won five in a row, to bring them to 30-32 on the season.
Here are the Dodgers-Phillies MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Dodgers-Phillies Odds
Los Angeles Dodgers: -1.5 (+138)
Philadelphia Phillies: +1.5 (-166)
Over: 9.5 (-105)
Under: 9.5 (-115)
How To Watch Dodgers vs. Phillies
TV: BSDET/NBCSP
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:05 PM ET/ 3:05 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Dodgers Could Cover The Spread
The issue for the Dodgers this year is not the offense. they are third in runs scored, seventh in on-base percentage, and 3rd in slugging. Players such as Mokkie Bets and JD Martinez have been on a power surge as of late. In Mookie Betts' last six games, he is batting .280 but his OPS is 1.040 due to his three home runs and four walks this month. JD Martinez is in the same position. He is hitting just .208 this month but has also hit three home runs and driven in four. Three of Martinez's five hits this month are home runs, with a double and a single. To add to this, the Dodgers still have Max Muncy, who is third in the league in home runs this year.
The issue for the Dodgers has been the pitching. The Dodgers are 22nd in team ERA and 16th in opponent batting average. In the last seven games only one starting pitcher has recorded a win. That is Clayton Kershaw, who has done it twice. The biggest issue for the Dodgers has been they allow too much solid contact. 6.3% of their pitches thrown have resulted in solid contact this year, which puts them in the bottom half of the league. The bullpen has been a major part of that issue. The bullpen ERA is 4.71 which is fourth to the bottom in the majors. They have also given up the fourth most home runs in the majors.
Hoping to keep the bullpen in the bullpen will be today's starter, Michael Grove. Grove is 0-2 this year with an 8.14 ERA. He has not pitched six full innings in his five starts this year and has only gotten through five innings twice. Last time out he gave up four runs, on four hits and two home runs in just five innings of work. Grove has been less than stellar this year and will need to put together a solid performance in this one.
Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread
The Phillies have been producing just enough runs to get the win, and we saw that again last night. Kody Clemens hit a walk-off single to get them a win again. They have scored just four runs in the last two games, but it was enough to get two wins. Overall, the Phillies have hit well, sitting 11th in the majors in batting average, and it would be higher if Kyle Schwarber did something other than strike out or hit dingers. Still, they are tied for 21st in runs scored.
Schwarber is tied for 6th in the majors in home runs now, and when he is making contact, he has been hitting with good power. The problem has been making contact. He has struck out already ten times this month in just seven games. He has strikeouts in his last 13 games, with six of them being multi-strike-out games. In the last month, he has been twice as likely to strike out than get a hit. Since the start of May, Schwarber has struck out 44 times. In the same period, he has just 16 hits. When he gets contact, it is good though. Ten of those 16 hits have been home runs while he has also had two doubles.
Nick Castellanos is still hot. He is hitting .458 over the last week with two home runs and six RBIs. He is sixth in the majors this year with a .315 batting average. Since the start of the month, he is hitting .519 with a .548 on-base percentage. Meanwhile, he has hit two doubles and two home runs.
Ranger Suarez is getting the start today for the Phillies. The last time out was his best of the year. He went seven innings and allowed just one run on eight hits. This is the second straight start he has worked into the seventh and given up two or fewer runs.
Final Dodgers-Phillies Prediction & Pick
While Suarez has not been great this year, he has been better than Michael Grove. Still, the Dodgers' offense is better than the Phillies by a lot. When they are on, they score a lot of runs. This is going to be a higher-scoring game, but the Dodgers pull it off.
Final Dodgers-Phillies Prediction & Pick: Dodgers -1.5 (+138) and over 9.5 (-105)
Follow Us
Subscribe