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The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals square off on Friday with first pitch set for 8:15 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. There is a marquee pitching matchup on tap as the Phillies’ Zach Wheeler will try to best the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright.
The Phillies (44-39) have won five of their past seven games, including Thursday’s contest versus the Nationals, 5-3. Rhys Hoskins, the reigning National League Player of the Week, had an RBI double in the win and is hitting 326/.440./708 over his past 26 games. Slugger Kyle Schwarber had two multi-homer games during that Nats series. He has gone deep nine times in his past 14 games. Wheeler, who has a 1.67 ERA over his past 12 starts, dealt seven shutout innings in a Phillies triumph when these two teams met last weekend.
The Cardinals (45-40) lost two of three games in Philadelphia during that set, and after falling in three of four games in Atlanta, they are essentially tied with the Phillies for the third and final NL Wild Card spot. The Cardinals have scored just 17 runs in those seven games this month. Although Paul Goldschmidt hasn’t homered since June 27, he is still a hit machine who leads the NL in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. Wainwright served up a home run to Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto in a loss to Wheeler and the Phils last Sunday night. Hoskins and Realmuto have combined for 15 hits in 29 at-bats versus the Cardinals’ ace.
Phillies vs. Cardinals
Pitchers: Zack Wheeler vs. Adam Wainwright
First pitch: 8:15 p.m. ET
Phillies local broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Cardinals local broadcast: Bally Sports Midwest
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Odds, picks & predictions
Run Line: Phillies -1.5 (+140)
Run total: 7.5
Moneyline odds: Phillies -125, Cardinals +105
Moneyline pick: Phillies -125
Tough to bet against the Cardinals at home, where they have won 60 percent of their games this season. But Wheeler is the better pitcher in this matchup, the Phillies’ offense is clicking more right now, and Wainwright has had consistent trouble pitching to two of a couple of Philadelphia’s best bats.
Player prop pick: Rhys Hoskins OVER 0.5 home runs (+310)
During his 17-year career, Hoskins has allowed more than two home runs to only one batter. That’s Hoskins, who has gone yard off of Waino three times in just 10 at-bats. Plus, considering how well Rhys is swinging the stick right now, another home run tonight would be hardly surprising.
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