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Cristopher Sanchez and Merrill Kelly Push Phillies and Rangers to Lowest Total Across Friday’s MLB Slate
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The Phillies’ series opener with the Rangers has the lowest over/under on Friday night’s MLB slate. That number is easy to understand when you see Cristopher Sanchez is on the mound for the Phillies. Merrill Kelly is a solid pitcher, but the Phils’ lineup owns solid head-to-head numbers against the right-handed from his time in Texas. That’s probably one of the reasons why the Phils are a -130 favorite at BetMGM.
Six members of the Phillies active roster have a career average of .200 or better against Kelly. Trea Turner owns the best head-to-head numbers with a .423 average in 26 at-bats. Turner is coming off a three-hit game on Wednesday afternoon. He should be the backbone of any Same Game Parlays for Friday’s game. Bet365 has a 50 percent SGP boost available for Friday’s slate. I’d use Turner o1.5 total bases as the first option for the SGP. I’d also play the over as a straight at +140 at bet365. J.T. Realmuto to record a hit is the second leg I’d look into. He’s got a decent head-to-head record against Kelly and recorded a hit in three of his last five games. Cristopher Sanchez to have five strikeouts is the third leg I’d add to fit the requirements of the boost. Texas has the seventh-most punchouts against lefties. You can go higher with Sanchez’s K prop, which is 6.5 as a straight, but I feel more than comfortable with his ability to get five Rangers down on strikes, especially with a few free-swinging power hitters in the lineup.
Speaking of home-run hitters, Kyle Schwarber has a .182 average versus Kelly, but Kelly has allowed 10 long balls to left-handed hitters in 2025. I’d consider Schwarber once again for BetMGM’s Big Fly Fridays. You can win a share of $50,000 in bonus bets if the player you pick to hit a home run hits the longest homer on Friday night. If you can’t find something you like you can check out NJ casino apps!
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com