Phillies Game Today: Phillies vs Nationals Odds, Starting Lineup, Pitching Matchup, Predictions, Schedule, Live Stream and TV Channel
The Philadelphia Phillies split a four-game set with the Atlanta Braves over the weekend, and now start the last week of July with another four-game series against yet another division rival, the Washington Nationals.
The Phillies are 49-49, in second place in the NL East, while the Nationals are 45-53 and preparing to sell at the deadline this week. The Braves will be playing four against the Mets while the Phillies take on the Nationals, meaning this is a crucial opportunity for the Phillies to gain some ground in the division and pad their record.
What Channel is the Phillies Game on Today?
Tonight’s Phillies game is available on NBC Sports Philadelphia, MASN, and MLB.TV (blackout restrictions may apply).
Phillies vs Braves Odds Today
The Phillies are slight favorites to win tonight’s series opener. They’re -125 on the moneyline today (bet $125 to win $100), while the Nationals are +100 (best $100 to win $100).
The spread has Washington at +1.5 at -190 (bet $190 to win $100), while the Phillies are -1.5 at +160 (bet $100 to win $160).
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Phillies vs Braves Pitching Matchup
Spencer Howard has the ball for the Phillies on Monday evening. He has a 5.11 ERA and is coming off a start against the Yankees in which he went three innings, only allowing one hit, one walk, and striking out two. It was his third scoreless appearance of the season out of 10 total (seven starts).
Since the beginning of June, Howard has a 4.73 ERA over five games (four starts) but has only totaled 13 1/3 innings. He’s allowed seven earned runs and struck out 12 of 59 batters faced over those games.
During their most recent series against the Braves, the Phillies offense scored a total of 12 runs over four games. Unfortunately, the Phillies pitching surrendered 24 runs in the series, including 15 runs in Saturday’s game. They need to open this week with another scoreless performance from Howard.
Girardi said over the weekend that Howard won’t be limited to a pitch count, and that he could even go nine innings, which is quite an optimistic outlook for a pitcher who hasn’t thrown 70 pitches once this season.
Going up against Howard is Joe Ross, who made his MLB debut way back in 2015. Ross had been out since July 4 with right elbow inflammation, so this will be his first game back. Nats manager Dave Martinez said on Sunday:
"“He feels good, he checked all the boxes we need to see.”“We had him throw a few extended bullpens. His arm felt good, the doctors OK’d him. He didn’t miss a whole lot of time, we had guys stand in in his last bullpen session, right-handed and left-handed hitters, he was pounding the strike zone, he looked good, he said his body felt good, so for me we want to get him back out there as soon as we can.”"
Ross opted out of the 2020 season but has spent all six seasons of his career with the Nationals. Over 16 starts this year, he has a 4.02 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 87 1/3 innings. He’s been excellent at limiting walks: only 28 issued over 369 batters faced (7.58%), compared to Howard’s 17 walks to 112 batters this season (15.17%).
Phillies Starting Lineup
Check back later for tonight’s lineup!
Phillies vs Braves Predictions Today
Based on their records, you might take the Phillies over the Nationals. But you’d also take Ross over Howard, based on stat lines alone. There’s always more
However, this feels like a Phillies win. Ross hasn’t started a game since Independence Day, while Howard is coming off a solid scoreless, albeit short start. If he can go deep into this game to limit bullpen exposure (we can dream, right?), Philadelphia is a solid bet.
Phillies vs Live Stream
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