After having a strong day on Wednesday, Thursday was a bit of a disaster for my Fox News plays. I lost the Thunder vs. Spurs over by a few buckets, and all of the scoring came in the first half of the Astros/Rangers game instead of the second half as I expected. I get a chance to redeem myself tonight as the Phillies take on the Dodgers.
The Philadelphia Phillies have had a massive turnaround this year. They started as one of the worst teams in baseball, but have turned around their campaign after firing their manager. I don’t think it should come as much of a surprise because there were a lot of reports about the manager and players butting heads. Maybe they are looser, maybe Don Mattingly, interim manager, is trying new things. Whatever it is, he has them above .500 and looking like an NL threat once again.
Phillies fire Rob Thomson, make Don Mattingly interim manager after dismal start to the season
Tonight, they have one of their best pitchers on the mound, Zack Wheeler. This season has been great for Wheeler, with him posting a 4-0 record, 1.67 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. He doesn’t qualify for any league lead because he has only thrown 37.2 innings, but it has been impressive nonetheless. He has posted 13 straight scoreless innings, and the Phillies have won every one of his six starts. Dodgers hitters are batting .311 against him over 135 at-bats. Over half of those have come from Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas.
I haven’t written about the Los Angeles Dodgers much this season. It probably is because there isn’t much to say. We expected them to be great, and they are. They are 16 games above .500, one of the best teams in baseball, and are marching toward defending their back-to-back World Series trophies. I think it is fairly interesting that the team has the exact same record on the road as they do at home, 18-10.
Tonight, they look to move a bit better on their home field with Justin Wrobleski on the hill. If there was a question about the Dodgers this season, it was about their pitching. If they are going to get guys like Wrobleski to turn in a 6-2 record, 3.07 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, they are going to be tough to beat in a series. Wrobleski has had a rough go of it lately, allowing 14 earned runs over his past 19.2 innings. He has allowed just 19 earned runs all season, so maybe teams are figuring him out. Phillies hitters have faced him five times and gotten four hits against him.
There aren’t many times that you’re going to get a chance to take the Dodgers at -120 like they are tonight. However, this isn’t a great spot. Wrobleski looks rough lately, and while it could be a mechanical thing, it also could be an adjustment needed that he hasn’t made yet. Wheeler doesn’t have a great history against the Dodgers hitters, but maybe he can avoid Freddie Freeman, who has done the most damage against him.
The Dodgers have won five straight, and the Phillies swept the Padres in their last series. So, both teams are hot. I do think this game means a lot to Philadelphia because they were eliminated last year by Los Angeles. Give me the Phillies to take the opener behind Wheeler.
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