The San Francisco Giants ended a disastrous East Coast road swing Monday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. They have won only one of their six games so far and have been outscored by a total of 20 points.
On Tuesday, they head west for a third straight game against the Rockies, ending a 10-game road trip before finally returning home to the Bay Area.
Perhaps the starting pitcher for Monday’s game against the Phillies could bring some cheer to a clubhouse in trouble, as highly touted prospect Mason Black is set to make his MLB debut in his home state of Pennsylvania. .
Giants vs Phillies odds
| team | money line | run line | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| giants | +176 | +1.5 (-125) | o7.5 (-110) |
| phillies | -210 | -1.5 (+104) | u7.5 (-110) |
Giants vs. Phillies predictions
Black posted a 1.01 ERA with Triple-A Sacramento, the best of any starting pitcher in the Pacific Coast League.
He struck out 29% of the batters he faced and allowed a WHIP of just 0.90 in 100 at-bats.
His pitching arsenal features a moderate amount of spin, which should be around average for MLB leagues.
Still, his elite command of the four-pitch mix could cause problems for the Phillies’ red-hot offense early on.
There is no hotter player in all of baseball than slugger Alec Bohm. He shed more tears than any Philadelphia team in the last 15 years has seen.
However, there are signs that the Phillies are likely to regress offensively towards the 126 wRC+ they posted over the past two weeks.
Losing Trea Turner has diminished the offense to some extent, and given how they were used last week, it’s possible the Phillies will give one or two key hitters off.
Zack Wheeler enters this matchup as a National League Cy Young Award candidate at +300 odds (bet 365). He pitched to an xERA of 2.38 and an xFIP of 2.78. His pitching+ rating was 110 and his strikeout rate increased to 30%.
The Giants have posted a wRC+ of just 98 over the past two weeks. They owned an xSLG of .399 and recorded a strikeout rate of 22.8%.
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Giants vs. Phillies predictions
Black has the potential to produce reasonable results right from the jump, even in this tough matchup.
However, I believe Wheeler should be able to continue his dominant season against a struggling Giants batting lineup, which makes him worth targeting for low-scoring games.
Even if Philadelphia plays with its top lineup, it’s worth betting that F5 will stay within four points of -115.
If the Phillies rest some of their key hitters, it’s also worth betting on the Giants to win the first five at +165.
