Philadelphia Phillies vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Pick and Preview, July 23 (7/23): MLB

Philadelphia Phillies vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Pick and Preview, July 23 (7/23): MLB

Credit: photo by  Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

 

Odds

Time 6:05 p.m. EST
Phillies money line -160
Phillies run line -1.5 (+130)
Cubs money line +134
Cubs run line +1.5 (-150)
Over / under 8

 

Key stats

  Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Cubs
Record 49-44 36-57
Home / road record 24-22 18-25
Last 10 record 5-5 2-8
Streak L1 W2
Over / under record 48-43-2 43-44-6
Runs / game 4.68 4.20
Runs allowed / game 4.01 5.13

 

Preview

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs will play the 2nd game of the series at the Citizens Bank Park on Saturday. The Cubs outscored the Phillies 15-2 in the first game of the series. Velázquez drove in five runs with two late homers, including one off Phillies backup catcher Garrett Stubbs in the ninth inning. Seiya Suzuki and Willson Contreras also homered.

 

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies get to this game with a 49-44 record and have won their last 4 games. The team is averaging 4.68 runs per game. They're batting for .246 AVG, 431 runs scored in 766 hits and 120 home runs, ranking #6 in offense in the league behind the New York Mets. Kyle Schwarber leads the team with 29 home runs and 58 RBI while Alec Bohm is batting for .276 avg.

Defensively they are allowing 4.1 runs per game and rank #10 in the league. Zack Wheeler leads the team with a 2.89 ERA, 108 strikeouts and 8 wins recorded for the Phillies.

Probable Pitcher:   Zack Wheeler (8-5, 2.89 ERA)

Wheeler will be on the mound in the 2nd game of the series for the Phillies. Wheeler took the loss against the Blue Jays on Wednesday after pitching 4.2 innings and allowing six runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four. He has a record of 2-2 with an ERA of 4.54 and 35 strikeouts in 6 appearances against the Cubs in his career.

 

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs get here with a 36-57 record and have won 3 of their last 4 games. The team is averaging 4.20 runs per game. They're batting for .244 AVG, 386 runs scored in 761 hits and 88 home runs, ranking #20 in offense in the league behind the Tampa Bay Rays. Patrick Wisdom is leading the team with 17 home runs and 46 RBI while Wilson Contreras has the better batting average with .280.

Defensively they are allowing 5.13 runs per game and rank #27 in the league. Keegan Thompson leads the pitching staff with a 3.45 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 7 wins recorded for the Cubs.

Probable Pitcher: 

Marcus Stroman (2-5, 4.69 ERA) will take the mound in the 2nd game of the series for the Cubs. Stroman did not factor into the decision in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Mets, allowing one run on one hit and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out six batters. He has a 4-4 record with an ERA of 2.62 and 42 strikeouts in 10 appearances versus the Phillies in his career.

 

BETTING TRENDS

The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chi Cubs' last 6 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia.

Chi Cubs are 2-7 SU in their last 9 games against an opponent in the National League.

Philadelphia are 13-7 SU in their last 20 games at home.

The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs.

 

Prediction

The Cubs offense exploded in the first game of the series scoring 15 runs to beat the Phillies but they'll now have to face Zack Wheeler who struggled in his last start but before that was doing an outstanding job so he's most likely to bounce back and have a good game. Marcus Stroman will get the ball for the Cubs and he hasn't pitched more than 4 innings in each of his last starts but has good numbers against the Phillies. Expect a close game as both starters should have good performances. Take the under.

PICK: Under 8 (-110)

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