Two of the better teams in the National League are set to begin a four-game series against one another on Thursday when the Philadelphia Phillies head West to take on the San Diego Padres. At home, the Padres are favored in the series opener with a moneyline of -145 compared to Philadelphia’s moneyline of +125. The game also has an over/under of seven runs.
While the Phillies were excellent during the first part of June, they are now trying to snap a three-game losing streak. They lost two games to the Rangers earlier this week and now have to finish their road trip in San Diego. While Philadelphia is still two games over .500, the Phillies are 8.5 games back in the NL East and three games out of a Wild Card spot.
Meanwhile, the Padres are riding a three-game winning streak after sweeping the Diamondbacks this week. Oddly enough, San Diego was swept by the Rockies last weekend, although the Padres have still won seven of their last ten games. That leaves the Padres in a tie with the Dodgers atop the NL West.
Joe Knows
The Padres will have Joe Musgrove on the mound for the series opener against the Phillies on Thursday. Musgrove is one of the frontrunners for the Cy Young in the National League, going 8-0 with a 1.59 ERA over his first 12 starts of the season. He is yet to pitch fewer than six innings or give up more than two runs in any start this year, with the Padres going 11-1 in games he’s started.
Meanwhile, the San Diego lineup appears to be on track after a 10-run outburst on Wednesday. Thanks to a couple of similar performances, the Padres are averaging 6.9 runs per game over their last ten games. Manny Machado has helped to carry the San Diego lineup all year, although Jake Cronenworth and Jorge Alfaro are both red-hot right now and providing plenty of assistance.
Call in the Ranger
The Phillies will call on lefty Ranger Suarez to help them end their losing streak. Suarez is 5-4 with a 4.43 ERA over his first 13 starts of 2022. His 1.51 WHIP is a little concerning, although Suarez has managed to hold opposing teams to three runs or less in all but one of his starts this year.
Of course, the Philadelphia lineup needs to get its act together after scoring just seven total runs over the team’s last four games. Bryce Harper is having an MVP-caliber season, while Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins have added plenty of power to the lineup. But outside of a few home runs from Schwarber, the Philadelphia offense behind Harper has disappeared in recent days.
Don’t Overthink It
With the Phillies struggling to get going offensively, now isn’t a good time for them to be facing Musgrove. Unless Suarez can deliver his best outing of the season, the Phillies are going to be facing an uphill battle in this game. Bet on the Padres to stay hot and take Thursday’s series opener.
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