It is the opening of an interleague series as the Detroit Tigers visit the Philadelphia Phillies. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Tigers-Phillies prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Tigers enter the game after being swept in three games by the White Sox. In the process, they struggled to score runs, but the pitching was solid. Still, the Tigers are 4-6 in their last ten games. It was also an odd series against the White Sox. On Saturday the White Sox walked off on a wild pitch that hit the umpire. Yesterday it was a walk-off grand slam for Jake Burger, as Liam Hendriks got his first win since returning from cancer.
The Phillies were swept by the Mets and then lost game one of the series against the Nationals. The Phillies offense turned it on in the series with the Nats though. They won the last two games of the series and scored 22 runs in the series overall. Philadelphia still finds themselves in fourth place in the NL East though, sitting with a 27-32 record.
Here are the Tigers-Phillies MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Tigers-Phillies Odds
Detroit Tigers: +1.5 (+102)
Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (-122)
Over: 8.5 (-110)
Under: 8.5 (-110)
How To Watch Tigers vs. Phillies
TV: BSDET/NBCSP
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Tigers Could Cover The Spread
The Tiger's offense went completely silent over the weekend. They scored just three runs in three games against the White Sox, losing each of them. Still, the Tigers find themselves in a position where they are in the race for the AL Central. They are 26-31 on the season and sit 3.5 games back of the Twins who are in first. The struggling offense is nothing new for the Tigers though. They are in the bottom five in the league in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging for the year.
The Tigers' best offense threat, Riley Greene, is on the ten-day IL. He was hitting great over the last month, hitting .365 for the month while driving in 11 runs. With that, the newly acquired Jake Marisnick has been thrust into the lineup. It has not gone well for him thus far. He is three for 13 so far as a member of the Tigers, with one RBI in four games. Over the weekend, he has just one hit in nine at-bats in the series, while striking out three times. Also struggling over the weekend was Spencer Torkelson. He hit just .182 over the weekend but did account for both RBIs yesterday, hitting a two-run home run.
Joey Wentz will be taking the mound for the Tigers in this one. He is currently 1-5 on the season with a 7.28 ERA. One of his best starts of the year was last time out. He pitched just 4.1 innings but only gave up one ruin. It was the first time since April 14th, a span of eight starts, that he had not given up two or more runs in a start.
Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread
The Phillies are 23rd in the majors in runs scored this year, and average just 4.27 runs per game this year. They have been above average-over the last few games. They have scored four or more runs in each of the last three games, which is a huge turnaround from scoring just three combined runs in the three games before that. The Phillies will be without their top RBI guys in this one though. Alec Bohm is still on the ten-day IL with a strained left hamstring. Recent production has come from Nick Castellanos. Castellanos has driven in six runs while batting .458 in the last six games. He has been hitting well all year. Castellanos is sixth in the majors this year with a .316 batting average.
Kyle Schwarber also just showed why people are still excited when he comes to the plate. While hitting just .172 on the season, yesterday he hit two home runs and drove in six in the Phillies' 11-3 win. Also driving in runs over the weekend was Brandon Marsh. Marsh drove in a run in each of the three games on the weekend. It is a nice turnaround early in June for Marsh. He drove in just 11 runs in all of May, while batting just .208.
The Phillies send Aaron Nola to the mound today. He is currently 4-4 with a 4.70 ERA, and his last two starts have not been great. He went six innings in both of them and gave up four and five runs in the two starts. Nola has been having trouble keeping the ball in the yard this year. He has given up 12 home runs this year and at least one home run in each of his last eight starts.
Final Tigers-Phillies Prediction & Pick
Neither pitcher heading to the mound today has been very good this year. Neither offense has been good at scoring this year. Still, the Phillies have shown more this year when facing a struggling pitcher. They have had the better bats over the past few games, and have the more talented lineup. Without Riley Greene, the Tigers' offense is not the same. For as bad as Nola has been lately, the Tigers send out much worse in Wentz. Take the Phillies in this one.
Final Tigers-Phillies Prediction & Pick: Phillies -1.5 (-122)
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