Last Updated on August 26, 2017 5:05 pm by dpatrick
Cubs vs. Phillies Pick
Are the arms or bats going to dominate when the Chicago Cubs play at the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday at 7:05PM EST?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Cubs are a -210 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Phillies are a +180 underdog, while the over-under is set at 8.5.
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Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.52 ERA) will pitch for the Cubs, while the Phillies turn to Ben Lively (1-4, 3.70). Hendricks has a 1.27 WHIP with 81 strikeouts in 94 2/3 innings. He has a road ERA of 3.46. Lively carries a 1.38 WHIP and has only 21 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings. His home ERA is 3.18 in three starts.
Chicago comes in with a 68-59 record and is 34-31 on the road, while Philadelphia is 47-80 and 26-34 at home. The Phillies won the series opener 7-1 and have now won two out of five in the season series. The over has hit in four of five games.
In Friday’s game, Rhys Hoskins set an MLB record by hitting his ninth home run in is first 16 career games. Cesar Hernandez went 3-for-4 with two doubles plus a run and three RBIs, while Freddy Galvis added two hits. Maikel Franco hit a home run. Jerad Eickhoff allowed one earned run and struck out eight over five innings to earn the win. Jose Quintana was tagged for six earned runs in five innings to take the loss. Kyle Schwarber paced the Cubs with two hits including a solo home run.
Hendricks doesn’t typically work deep into games and can be shaky at times, while Lively doesn’t have a high strikeout rate and his numbers seem to suggest regression is coming. The Phillies offense has a lot of confidence right now and the Cubs offense is always potent. Take the over here.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CUBS/PHILLIES OVER 8.5