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It’s Acceptable to Fade the Phillies in the Annual Hangover Game
By Joe Tansey
Published:
Ahh, the annual hangover game.
The Phils clinched the NL East title on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
You saw the vociferous celebrations in the locker room. Just by your own logic you can confirm most of the team will be hungover as hell on Tuesday. They also might still be adjusting to the time change after the long flight to the west coast on Sunday.
Quite possibly the worst matchup for the hangover is Shohei Ohtani. You think the lineup wants to deal with a hangover and a generational talent on the mound together? Probably not.
That’s why tonight is one of the few times it’s acceptable to fade a Philly sports team. The Dodgers money line is -145 at ESPN Bet. I’d be more inclined to bet the First Five Innings money line at -130:
Ohtani only allowed five hits in his last 8.2 innings of work. He struck out 14 batters in those two outings, which is the stat I’m honing in on for my favorite prop bet.
Ohtani to go Over 5.5 sits at -150 at ESPN Bet. It’s absolutely worth taking given the Phillies’ hangover game and Ohtani’s recent uptick in strikeouts. Hell, he might even reach the over the first time through the Phillies order.
Cristopher Sanchez is scheduled to start for the Phils, so it’s not like it’s impossible for them to win on Tuesday night, but the circumstances certainly don’t play in their favor.
There’s not a true concern with Sanchez starting on the road, but blindly backing him away from South Philly is different compared to when he’s inside The Bank.
For example, opponents are hitting 39 points better against Sanchez on the road, he’s allowed 10 more earned runs, and walked 11 more batters in road games.
Again, not impossible to win on back-to-back nights in LA, but the first few innings might be a rough watch for Phillies fans.
Kinkead: You should also get a PA casino sign up bonus so you can play blackjack online while waiting for the damn game to start.
Joe Tansey writes sports betting posts for Crossing Broad and also covers the Philadelphia Union for his Substack site, Union Soccer Blog.