An interleague series between division leaders starts up on Monday when the Houston Astros (69-60, 1st AL West) take on the Philadelphia Phillies (75-54, 1st NL East). Houston is finishing up a series in Baltimore on Sunday night, after losing two of the first three games. The Phillies are in Kansas City on Sunday, where they split the first two games (Note: This article was published before Sunday's results). This is the only series between these teams this season. Houston will start Ronel Blanco (3.14 ERA) and Philadelphia will respond with Zack Wheeler (2.73 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:40 EST from Citizens Bank Park and can be found on FS1.
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Houston Continues Trip Out East
The Houston Astros are spending a week on the East Coast, as they are playing four games against the Orioles in Baltimore, then heading right to the City of Brotherly Love to play three against the Phillies. Going into Sunday Night Baseball, the Astros have lost two of their first three games in the trip, but only need to hold on to the AL West crown to make the postseason. It is continuing to look as if the AL West will only get one team into the postseason, as the Mariners are second in the division, but 7.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. Houston currently has a 4.5-game lead over Seattle.
Jose Altuve started off Saturday's game in Baltimore with a home run in the first at-bat of the game. It was his 18th of the season, and he has 56 RBIs while batting a strong .299 from the top of the lineup. Altuve also leads the team in stolen bases with 18 so far. Shortstop Jeremy Pena also homered in the game, but the Astros lost 3-2 as the two solo shots were the only runs they could generate. Pena bats out of the cleanup spot and now has 14 home runs with 60 RBIs and bats .270 at the plate. The top batting average on the team belongs to Yordan Alvarez, he is fifth in the MLB batting .306. Alvarez missed Saturday's game with a neck injury and is listed as day-to-day for this matchup. Alex Bregman is back after missing a couple of games with an injury, the third baseman has 20 homers and 60 RBIs on the year.
Ronel Blanco will make his 25th start of the year for Houston. He is a 30-year-old right-hander with a 9-6 record and the team has gone 3-2 overall in his last five starts. He has the 10th-best ERA in the league at 3.14 and has 136 strikeouts to 55 walks, with 20 home runs allowed on the year. In his last start, he only lasted 3.2 innings while giving up five earned runs in a loss to the Red Sox.
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Phillies Fighting for Top Spot
The Philadelphia Phillies have led the NL East for nearly the entire season, and currently hold a five-game lead over the Braves in the division. The Phillies are battling the rest of the National League, as they hope to go into the postseason as the number one seed. They are currently 1.5 games behind the Dodgers and tied with the Brewers in the NL standings. Philly lit up Kansas City on Saturday, winning 11-2 as JT Realmuto hit two separate three-run home runs in the win.
According to ESPN.com, Phillies' manager Rob Thomson spoke after the game about Realmuto's performance saying, “The first three-run homer, everybody exhaled at that point. Seven RBI in one game is pretty impressive.” Realmuto is their catcher, and batted seventh in the lineup hitting his ninth and tenth home runs of the year. He is now up to 36 RBIs and is batting .262 at the plate. Shortstop Trea Turner had two RBIs in Saturday's game, the shortstop bats second in the lineup and now has 46 RBIs on the year to go with 14 home runs and a .302 batting average. The Philly offense is still centered around their two heavy hitters, Kyle Schwarber is their leadoff man with 28 home runs on the year, and Bryce Harper bats third with another 26 on the season.
Zack Wheeler will make his 26th start of the season for the Phillies. The 34-year-old righty has a 12-6 record, but the team has only gone 2-3 overall in his past five starts. His ERA is 3rd best in the league at 2.73, and he is 8th in strikeouts with 170 on the year. He has walked 43 batters and allowed 17 home runs on the year. In his last start, Wheeler pitched six innings, giving up two runs to the Braves in a loss.
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Best Bets for Houston Astros vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Rating:
Two of the best pitchers in baseball face off in the first game of this series, but Wheeler is at home, has the lower ERA, and strikes out more batters which will led the Phillies to a win. Wheeler is top ten in the MLB in ERA, strikeouts and WHIP, as he has been excellent all season. Both teams are division leaders but the Phillies would be six games ahead of the Astros if they played in the same division. Philly is at full strength, Realmuto just had a seven-RBI game, Turner is back to healthy after missing some games in the middle of the year, and the three-headed monster of Schwarber, Harper and Bohm are always a threat to put runs on the board. Houston is starting Blanco, he has given up more home runs this season than Wheeler, which will be especially important when facing Schwarber and Harper. Blanco got lit up by the Red Sox for five runs in three innings in his last game, Philly will look to do the same and grab a win in the first game of the series.
Take the Phillies to win.
Prediction: Phillies Moneyline
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
Rating:
This game was always going to be an under, and anyone betting the over is trying too hard to fade reality. These are two of the best pitchers in baseball, both are in the top ten in the league in ERA and will continue to pitch deep into the game as long as the score is close. Wheeler is 3rd in ERA and 8th in strikeouts, the 34-year-old is not showing any signs of aging and will look to continue his dominance here. Wheeler is better at home where his ERA drops to 2.40, and has allowed two or fewer runs in nine of his last ten games. Blanco is going for the Astros, he had an early no-hitter this season and has not dropped off much as his ERA is 3.14. Philly has gone under in five of their last seven games, and Houston has gone under in three of four. Do not overthink this one, it will be a low-scoring game with two aces on the mound.
Take the under.
Prediction: Under
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