Sports Betting Picks

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs Betting Preview

The Philadelphia Phillies (41-37) and Chicago Cubs (37-40) will battle it out in the second of a three-game series Wednesday. The Cubs will host this one at Wrigley Field, with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 pm ET.

Philadelphia was able to take the first game of this series on Tuesday 5-1. In the win, Brandon Marsh had two home runs, and Ranger Suarez picked up the win after firing 7.1 innings of one-run ball.

Despite playing on the road, the Phillies are the favorites to win Wednesday. They are -120 to win, while the Cubs’ moneyline sits at +102. The runline features Chicago +1.5 (-164), and the over/under for total runs is eight.

Phillies Looking To Improve On The Road

At 41-37, the Philadelphia Phillies have the third-best odds in the NL East, 10.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves. While the Phillies have played well at home (21-14), they have to improve on the road (20-23) if they are serious about contending. They will try to do just that and secure a series win on Wednesday as they take on Chicago.

Taking the mound for the Phillies in this one will be 30-year-old righty Aaron Nola. In 16 games, he is 6-5 with a 4.38 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and he has 98 strikeouts in 100.2 innings. He took a no-decision in his last start against the Braves despite throwing six scoreless innings.
Offensively, the Phillies rank 17th in baseball in scoring. They are averaging 4.38 runs per game this season.

Kyle Schwarber leads the team in the power category. Despite hitting just .185/.328/.434, he is the only Phillies player with double-digit home runs, as he has 20. He also has 42 runs batted in and 45 runs scored.

Cubs Trying To Take Advantage Of Weak Division

Like the Phillies, the Chicago Cubs sit in third place in their division (NL Central). Despite being three games under .500, though, the Cubs are just 3.5 games out of first place. Trying to close the gap in their weak division, the Cubs will look to pick up a win at Wrigley Field Wednesday, where they are 20-18 on the season.

In terms of offense, the Cubs rank 11th in MLB this season in scoring. They are averaging 4.63 runs per game (4.81 at home).

Keep an eye on both shortstop Dansby Swanson and catcher Yan Gomes in this one. In their careers, they have both homered twice off of the Phillies’ Aaron Nola. Christopher Morel has also tagged Nola for a home run in his career.

Manager David Ross will hand the ball to 34-year-old lefty Drew Smyly to try to even the series. In 15 games, he is 7-4 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and he has 69 strikeouts in 82.2 innings. He has picked up back-to-back wins and threw five scoreless in his last outing against the Pirates.

Take The Cubs On The Runline

Given that they are both 7-3 in their last ten games, both the Phillies and the Cubs come into this one having played well as of late.

For the Phillies, Aaron Nola has not been as sharp this season as usual, but he is still capable of putting up an ace-like performance. For the Cubs, crafty veteran Drew Smyly is more than capable of keeping his club in this one to the end.

With no clear advantage for either side, the best bet might be to take the runs on the runline. In this case, that means taking Chicago at +1.5 (-164).

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