The Phillies make the trip to Chicago to face the Cubs! These two teams are having very different seasons with the Cubs struggling to find any sort of consistency, while the Phillies are one of the best teams in the MLB. The Phillies also won the first game in this series. Our MLB odds series has our Phillies-Cubs prediction, odds, and pick for Thursday.

Phillies-Cubs Projected Starters 

Cristopher Sanchez vs. Jameson Taillon

Cristopher Sanchez (6-3) with a 2.41 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP

Last Outing: Pitched nine innings and gave up zero runs on three hits with zero walks and nine strikeouts in a Phillies win.

2024 Road Splits: (1-2) 4.32 ERA

Jameson Taillon (4-4) with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP

Last Start: Pitched six innings and gave up four runs on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts in a Cubs loss.

2024 Home Splits: (4-2) 2.97 ERA

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Phillies-Cubs Odds

Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (+152)

Moneyline: +100

Chicago Cubs: +1.5 (-184)

Moneyline: -118

Over: 9.5 (+100)

Under: 9.5 (-122)

How to Watch Phillies vs. Cubs

Time: 2:20 pm ET

TV: MLB Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Phillies Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Phillies are one of the best teams in the MLB and currently have a 56-29 record. They have won three out of their last four games and two straight leading into this matchup. The offense is the third-best in the MLB, while their pitching is the best in the MLB. On offense, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, JT Realmuto, Bryce Harper, Brandon Marsh, Nick Castellanos, and Alec Bohm have been the big standouts on a great offense. The pitching of Ranger Suarez, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, and Spencer Turnbull have made up one great pitching staff. The Phillies have been a force this season and have shown no signs of slowing down.

The Phillies are starting Cristopher Sanchez on the mound where he has a 6-3 record, a 2.41 ERA, and a 1.19 WHIP. He has allowed 31 runs on 87 hits with 24 walks and 79 strikeouts through 93.1 innings this season. In the 16 games he has started this season, the Phillies have gone 9-7. Sanchez has been one of the best pitchers available for the Phillies this season and he gets a favorable matchup against a Cubs offense that has been inconsistent at best.

The offense for the Phillies has been one of the best this season. The Phillies are third in the MLB in team batting average at .259 after finishing last season at .256. Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper lead the way for the Phillies behind the plate in most of the batting categories. Harper leads in batting average at .303, in home runs at 20, and in OBP at .399. Then, Bohm leads in RBI at 68 and total hits at 95. This offense gets a difficult matchup against Taillon on the mound for the Cubs because he has been a big bright spot for the Cubs this season on the mound.

Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Cubs have a 39-47 record this season. They have struggled behind the plate and are in the middle of the pack overall on the mound. In comparison, their pitching is also in the middle of the pack. On offense, Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Christopher Morel, Michael Tauchman, and Dansby Swanson make up an inconsistent and struggling offense. Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon are standouts for a pitching staff that has had to carry them at times due to how much the offense has struggled.

The Cubs are starting Jameson Taillon on the mound where he has a 4-4 record, a 3.03 ERA, and a 1.24 WHIP. He has allowed 32 runs on 75 hits with 17 walks and 58 strikeouts through 74.1 innings. In his 13 starts this season, the Cubs are 6-7. Taillon has been a huge key for the Cubs' success at times this season. He gets a difficult matchup against the Phillies offense with how well they have played this season and with how much depth they have overall.

The Cubs' offense has been inconsistent behind the plate and has struggled at times. They are 25th in team batting average at .227 after having a .254 one season ago. The offense is led by Cody Bellinger, Christopher Morel, and Michael Busch in most batting categories. Bellinger leads in batting average at .270 and in total hits at 77. Then, Morel leads in home runs at 15 and RBI at 45. Finally, Busch leads in OBP at .358. They get difficult matchup against Sanchez on the mound with how well he has played this season.

Final Phillies-Cubs Prediction & Pick

The Phillies are the better team in this matchup. Sanchez is the better option than Taillon on the mound and the Phillies have a much better offense than the Cubs. This will end up being a pitching duel between Sanchez and Taillon and when that happens it should be a close game. Expect the Cubs to cover at home, even if the Phillies still win.

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Final Phillies-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Cubs +1.5 (-184)