Mets vs. Phillies prediction and odds for Saturday, June 24 (Philadelphia has edge)

The Phillies and Mets continue a weekend series in Philadelphia on Saturday with the Phils hoping to find a consistent rotation arm in Cristopher Sanchez.

Sanchez has been up-and-down from the big league club over the last three seasons, can he find a spot in the rotation after making two starts this season? He will match up against Carlos Carrasco, who has struggled mightily for the Mets this season.

Can the Phillies continue to stay close in the NL Wild Card race? Let's check out the odds:

Mets vs. Phillies odds, run line and total

Mets vs. Phillies prediction and pick

It's too small of a sample to make a sweeping conclusion on Sanchez, who has made just two starts combining more than eight innings, but I like this matchup for him against the Mets lackluster offense against left handed pitching.

The Mets have struggled all year against southpaws, hitting only .242 and are 19th in OPS against left handed pitching and the offense has been a mess this month, hitting just .228 in the month of June.

Sanchez is a candidate for some better outcomes on the mound. Last season he had a 5.63 ERA mainly out of the bullpen for Philly, but had an xERA far lower at 4.28, and this season across the small sample size he has a 3.24 ERA supported by a 2.66 xERA.

Meanwhile, the Phillies top five batting offense in June should thrive against Carrasco. The Mets right hander can't strike anybody out anymore, punching out about five per nine innings while walking over four per nine and the Phillies ability to put the ball in play should lead to plenty of run scoring chances.

These two teams continue to be rated as nearly the same but I'll buy the underrated Sanchez to show out against the slumping Mets.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.