There comes a time in the life of every MLB team when rebuilding becomes necessary. It’s a sad fact of baseball life, but it’s something that generally needs to be done after years of paying inflated salaries in the pursuit of a title. The Philadelphia Phillies have systematically broken down their team over the past few seasons, and probably hit bottom with their performance last year. This is not a team that is in any way expected to contend this season, but they may do a whole lot better than last year of some of their young prospects can start to pay dividends. They are off to a fairly respectable start to the season, but will be well aware that success is measured over the long haul. They will have a division series against the Washington Nationals this weekend, with the first of 3 games set to go on Friday night. You can keep up with the odds for this one, as well as all the other MLB betting lines action at MyBookie.ag.
How To Bet The Nationals Vs Phillies MLB Odds, TV & Game Info
When: Friday, April 15 at 7:05 PM EST
Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
Starting Pitchers: Nationals: Joe Ross (1-0) Vs Phillies: Jeremy Hellickson (1-0)
TV: MASN, CSN
Radio: Nationals and Phillies
Live Stream: CSN
MLB Odds: TBA
Why bet on the Philadelphia Phillies
Expectations are being kept low for the Phillies (4-5) this season, which means they have to be somewhat pleased with the start they have made. Things got off to a rocky start with 4 straight losses, but Philly have bounced back nicely by taking 4 of their last 5. They will at least get a split from the Padres when they finish up that 4-game series on Thursday. The biggest surprise this season so far has been the performance of the pitching staff, which is sitting in the top ten in team ERA in the MLB. If that can hold up, this team may end up having a decent season. Jeremy Hellickson (1-0, 1.54 ERA) will start for the Phillies.
Why bet on the Washington Nationals
The Nationals (6-1) have made a solid start to the season, although they have been given a rather easy start to the year by the MLB schedule maker. That is a trend that bears out all the way through to the latter stages of April, which is when the Nats will square off against the St. Louis Cardinals. All other games to that point are against ball clubs that were on the awful side of the coin last season. These are games that still need to be won, but the Nationals are certainly showing that they are up for the challenge. Their offense has been good, but it is the pitching that has propelled this team to a fast start. Joe Ross (1-0, 1.29 ERA) will get the start for Washington.
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
Given how both of these teams have started, there is a pretty good chance that we will be looking at a low scoring game here. The Nationals have a little more pop in their bats, so should do enough to get the win.
Washington Nationals 3 Philadelphia Phillies 1
