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Phillies’ Offensive Struggles Could Continue in Series Opener Versus Pirates
By Joe Tansey
Published:
There’s a weird dynamic hovering over the Phillies’ series opener in Pittsburgh.
The Phils got rocked on Thursday afternoon in Toronto and are going with a bullpen game started by Joe Ross.
The Pirates didn’t have to travel, but they finished their Thursday game around midnight due to an extensive rain delay.
Then add in the recent records of both teams (Phils 1-6 in last 7, Pirates 2-4 in last 6) and you have two potential outcomes in play. The first is a slog of a game that becomes even more miserable by the inning, or a high-scoring game between two tired and struggling teams.
Unfortunately, I think the former is the more likely outcome. The Pirates just flat out stink and have very little offensive firepower and former Phil Bailey Falter’s been one of the most underrated pitchers in the majors this season.
Falter didn’t allow more than four hits in a single outing across his six appearances in May. He conceded just three earned runs during the month a massive reversal from the concession of 18 earned runs in April.
Falter is one of those old-school contact pitchers. He only had 19 strikeouts in 35.2 innings last month, so if you want to fade the putrid Phillies offense, the way to go is to bet the over on his outs recorded prop.
Now, look, the Phils are one of the better teams against lefties this season, but they have scored three runs or fewer in five of the last seven games, and until they figure things out at the plate, it’s hard to argue for the season-long trend over the recent form.
The good news for the Phils is they might not have to score more than three runs all series to beat the Pirates, who scored five runs in their three-game series with the Astros earlier this week.
Ideally, the Phils get a handful of innings out of Ross, who was a starter with the Brewers in a previous life. He’s only had one outing over two innings this season, but the situation calls for a few frames after Jesus Luzardo couldn’t get out of the third inning on Thursday.
At this point, though, it might not matter who’s on the mound against the Pirates. They are just awful at the plate, and with the way the Phils are struggling, the under nine looks like the easiest play on the board right now. Alternately, it may be a game where you monitor the live lines while playing PA online casinos or NJ online casinos.
Joe Tansey writes sports betting posts for Crossing Broad and also covers the Philadelphia Union for his Substack site, Union Soccer Blog.