Written By: The Persian
The streaking and red-hot Philadelphia Phillies take on the reeling Miami Marlins in the first four-game set starting Thursday night inside loanDepot Park from Miami, Florida. They toss out the first pitch at 6:40 pm. The Phillies have ripped off four straight wins and are getting hot at the right time. Bookmaker has installed the Phillies -225 on the ML.
The Phillies have distanced themselves from the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets in the NL East and are ready to nail the door shut on the division. They are starting to hit their stride after a rough month or so, where many were doubting if they were a playoff team.
They have responded and have played some of their best baseball of late, winning five of six and nine of eleven overall. They sit in first place with a solid mark of 83-56. They are 7 1/2 games ahead of the Braves after Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
They got a little scared on Wednesday when veteran slugger Bryce Harper had to leave the game with an elbow issue. Harper exited the contest after he was hit on the left elbow in the first inning. He is hitting a solid .282 on the season with 26 home runs and 76 RBI. The Phillies have hit 166 home runs this season.
They will hand the ball over to Ranger Suarez, who sports a mark of 11-6 with an ERA of 3.02. He has fanned 128 hitters in 128.1 innings of work for the Phillies, who enter this series with a team ERA of 3.71.
Look for the Phillies to be aggressive at the plate against weak Miami pitching.
The Marlins have been a bad team, and they cannot wait until the season is over. They have not played any competitive baseball over the last several months. They have had issues all season long with manufacturing runs, and their pitching has not really helped their cause. They are buried in the NL East, and they will have a ton of questions that need to be answered heading into the off-season.
The Marlins are 3-3 over their last six games.
On offense, they are led by third baseman Jake Burger, who has ripped a team-high 25 home runs and has driven in 59 runs while batting .247. He is one homer away from breaking his career-high of 25, which he also hit in 2023.
Miami will hand the ball over to Adam Oller, who has a record of 1-1. He has an ERA of 3.31 and has struck out 16 hitters this season. The Phillies' hitters and lineup will challenge him.
The Marlins are 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 34-34 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games.
The Phillies are 4-1 in their last five games and 1-4 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 30-36 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in three out of their last five games.
