Aaron Nola has had a shaky start to the season, but last night he was as dominant as he’s ever been, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finishing with no earned runs allowed and 12 strikeouts. Behind that performance from their ace and two homers from Trea Turner, the Philadelphia Phillies took Game 1 of this three-game series with the Detroit Tigers, 8-3. The Phillies are 28-32 and the Tigers are 26-32.
For Game 2, Philadelphia will hand the ball to Taijuan Walker to make his 12th start of the season and Detroit will counter with Tyler Alexander. The Detroit reliever will make his first start of the year tonight, but he is 1-0 with a 6.38 ERA in 16 appearances this year. Walker is 4-3 with a 5.65 ERA.
Let’s get into the odds for Game 2 of this interleague series.
Tigers vs. Phillies odds, run line and total
Tigers vs. Phillies prediction and pick
Last season, the Detroit Tigers were an abysmal offensive team, but so far this season they have been much improved. However, over the past week they are back to their old ways with a .533 OPS and just 15 runs scored in six games. Javier Baez is having another awful season with a .265 OBP, only three home runs in a team high 215 at-bats, and a 60 OPS+ and in this recent stretch he is even worse with a .410 OPS.
In their last six games, the Tigers only have three players with at least 10 at-bats and an OPS over .700, not a high bar to clear. They are suffering badly with Riley Greene on the 10-day IL with a leg injury, an injury he suffered right at the start of this terrible stretch. Now, they are relying on their bullpen to carry them while their offense struggles.
Detroit has lost four straight and I don’t see this slide ending any time soon. The Phillies are getting much needed production from Trea Turner who has been somewhat of a disappointment in his first season with the Phillies. Plus, Nick Castellanos has 13 hits in their last seven games and a 1.234 OPS over that stretch. Philadelphia has won three-in-a-row and it’s clear that these are two teams heading in opposite directions.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change