The Philadelphia Phillies led the NL East for a while this year, but they are eliminated from the playoffs. The Atlanta Braves are NL East champions but still have something to play for in terms of which seed they will be in the NL playoffs. The Braves are slight MLB odds favorites Friday.
The Braves closed out a series at the Mets on Thursday and star first basemen Freddie Freeman got a breather. Freeman is sitting on a .308/.386/.502 batting line, 23 home runs, and 95 RBI. Ender Inciarte also sat – both should play here.
Atlanta did get some bad news this week on shortstop and former No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson. An MRI revealed that Swanson has a partially torn ligament in his left hand. Swanson will be shut down, and then reevaluated before the start of the NLDS. He left Tuesday’s 7-3 victory against the New York Mets with what the team described as left-hand soreness. He missed 13 games earlier in the season with left wrist inflammation.
Swanson is having a bounce-back season after a disappointing 2017. He is hitting .238 with 14 homers and 59 RBIs. Charlie Culberson will serve as the shortstop while Swanson is out of the lineup.
The Braves are set to become the first National League team to reach 90 wins in a season following three or more consecutive 90-loss seasons since the 1991 Braves. That 1991 club went 94-68 and reached the World Series after four consecutive 90-loss seasons. The Braves went 67-95 in 2015, 68-93 in 2016 and 72-90 last season.
The Braves are 48-24 (.667) against the National League East this season. The club has a +118 run differential against the division this season and has gone 14-3-4 in intradivision series play. Only Boston (.704) has a better intradivision record. The intradivision record is the second tiebreaker, after head-to-head record, for determining home-field advantage in two-team tiebreakers. Atlanta tied Chicago in the season series, 3-3.
Mike Foltynewicz will make his final start of the regular season Friday, lining him up to get the ball for Game 1 of the NLDS. The 26-year-old right-hander is in the midst of a breakout season, compiling a 2.88 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 193:68 K: BB through 30 starts.
About all the Phillies have to play for is potentially avoiding a losing record, but they are in free-fall and would need a sweep.
The team has shut down Aaron Altherr for the season after he was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right big toe. Altherr suffered the injury Monday at Coors Field when he banged hard into the outfield wall while trying to track down a fly ball. He also came away with a bruised right knee and was displaying concussion-like symptoms. The 27-year-old finishes the 2018 season with a disappointing .181/.295/.333 batting line in 285 plate appearances. He tallied just eight home runs and three stolen bases in 105 games played.
The Phils are in the midst of 17 consecutive games without an off day to finish their season. It marks the longest stretch this year for the club without an off day. This is the first time the Phillies have finished a season with at least 17 straight games and no days off since the year 2000 when they also finished with 17 straight from 9/15-10/1.
The Phillies began the season with the youngest roster in MLB. The team has collected 964.1 innings from pitchers aged 26 or younger, the second-highest total of any team in the majors (most: PIT, 1083.2 IP.). Despite their struggles on the road this season, the Phillies are 47-31 at home, 16 games above the .500 mark. One has to go all the way back to 1955 to find the last time the Phils finished a season at least 15 games above .500 at home and 15 games under .500 on the road (46-31 at home, 31-46 on the road).
It’s Jerad Eickhoff (0-0, 9.00) on the mound. Eickhoff, who was arguably the team’s best pitcher in 2016, has missed almost the entire season because of a nerve issue in his right fingers. He has been pitching out of the bullpen recently, but the Phillies want to get him one start before entering the playoffs. He’ll make the start with Zach Eflin shut down for the year due to a left oblique strain. Expect Eickhoff to be on a strict pitch count.
How to Bet Braves vs Phillies MLB Spread & Game Info
2⃣4⃣ pic.twitter.com/b89Sc53Od6
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) 27 de septiembre de 2018
- When: Friday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philly
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Mike Foltynewicz/Jerad Eickhoff
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: Atlanta / Philadelphia
- MLB Spread: Atlanta Braves -120 / Philadelphia Phillies +110 (Total 9)
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Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 19°C/67°F
- Humidity: 77%
- Precipitation: 3%
- Cloud Cover: 57%
- Wind: 5 mph NNW
- Stadium Type: Open
Why Bet on Atlanta?
The Braves closed out a series at the Mets on Thursday and star first basemen Freddie Freeman got a breather. Freeman is sitting on a .308/.386/.502 batting line, 23 home runs, and 95 RBI. Ender Inciarte also sat – both should play here.
Atlanta did get some bad news this week on shortstop and former No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson. An MRI revealed that Swanson has a partially torn ligament in his left hand. Swanson will be shut down, and then reevaluated before the start of the NLDS. He left Tuesday’s 7-3 victory against the New York Mets with what the team described as left-hand soreness. He missed 13 games earlier in the season with left wrist inflammation.
Swanson is having a bounce-back season after a disappointing 2017. He is hitting .238 with 14 homers and 59 RBIs. Charlie Culberson will serve as the shortstop while Swanson is out of the lineup.
The Braves are set to become the first National League team to reach 90 wins in a season following three or more consecutive 90-loss seasons since the 1991 Braves. That 1991 club went 94-68 and reached the World Series after four consecutive 90-loss seasons. The Braves went 67-95 in 2015, 68-93 in 2016 and 72-90 last season.
The Braves are 48-24 (.667) against the National League East this season. The club has a +118 run differential against the division this season and has gone 14-3-4 in intradivision series play. Only Boston (.704) has a better intradivision record. The intradivision record is the second tiebreaker, after head-to-head record, for determining home-field advantage in two-team tiebreakers. Atlanta tied Chicago in the season series, 3-3.
Mike Foltynewicz will make his final start of the regular season Friday, lining him up to get the ball for Game 1 of the NLDS. The 26-year-old right-hander is in the midst of a breakout season, compiling a 2.88 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 193:68 K: BB through 30 starts.
Why Bet on Philadelphia?
About all the Phillies have to play for is potentially avoiding a losing record, but they are in free-fall and would need a sweep.
The team has shut down Aaron Altherr for the season after he was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right big toe. Altherr suffered the injury Monday at Coors Field when he banged hard into the outfield wall while trying to track down a fly ball. He also came away with a bruised right knee and was displaying concussion-like symptoms. The 27-year-old finishes the 2018 season with a disappointing .181/.295/.333 batting line in 285 plate appearances. He tallied just eight home runs and three stolen bases in 105 games played.
The Phils are in the midst of 17 consecutive games without an off day to finish their season. It marks the longest stretch this year for the club without an off day. This is the first time the Phillies have finished a season with at least 17 straight games and no days off since the year 2000 when they also finished with 17 straight from 9/15-10/1.
The Phillies began the season with the youngest roster in MLB. The team has collected 964.1 innings from pitchers aged 26 or younger, the second-highest total of any team in the majors (most: PIT, 1083.2 IP.). Despite their struggles on the road this season, the Phillies are 47-31 at home, 16 games above the .500 mark. One has to go all the way back to 1955 to find the last time the Phils finished a season at least 15 games above .500 at home and 15 games under .500 on the road (46-31 at home, 31-46 on the road).
It’s Jerad Eickhoff (0-0, 9.00) on the mound. Eickhoff, who was arguably the team’s best pitcher in 2016, has missed almost the entire season because of a nerve issue in his right fingers. He has been pitching out of the bullpen recently, but the Phillies want to get him one start before entering the playoffs. He’ll make the start with Zach Eflin shut down for the year due to a left oblique strain. Expect Eickhoff to be on a strict pitch count.
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Braves vs Phillies MLB Betting Trends
- Braves are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings
- Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Philadelphia
- Phillies are 4-1 in Eickhoff’s last 5 home starts vs. Braves
- Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings
- Braves are 5-11 in the last 16 meetings in Philadelphia
- Atlanta is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
- Atlanta is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 5 games
- Philadelphia is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
- Philadelphia is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games at home
