It hasn't been a pleasant trip to Los Angeles for the Phillies, who lost the first two games against the Dodgers by a score of 26-5.
However, the Phillies send out its best pitcher on Wednesday to grab a win in Aaron Nola, who is off his best start of the year against the Astros in which he tossed eight innings of one earned run in a 3-1 win. Can he show up once again for the Phils against rookie Gavin Stone?
Let's check out the odds and get to the best bet:
Phillies vs. Dodgers odds, run line and total
Phillies vs. Dodgers prediction and pick
Nola is starting to pick it up, and even though the Dodgers are fresh off double digit wins, I give him a noted advantage against this LA lineup. The right hander has a 4.46 ERA, but has not put together three straight starts of allowing three earned runs or less while pitching six or more innings.
The Dodgers' aren't hitting all that well over the balance of the season, below .240 as a group, and are over reliant on drawing walk, posting the highest rate in baseball at 12%. However, Nola has a strong walk rate with about two per nine innings and will do a good job of limiting trouble on the base paths.
I also expect the Phillies lineup, that got Bryce Harper back from Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, to get the best of debutant Gavin Stone. Stone has posted a 4.74 ERA in two AAA starts this season, and he's backed by a bottom 10 Dodgers bullpen in terms of ERA. The Phillies hit .266 as a group this season and have some pop injected into the lineup with Harper.
I like the Phillies to snap this little skid and end the series with a win.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.