Arguably the best series in the majors early this week is Philadelphia making its only visit of the season to Arizona – although with both teams leading their respective divisions we could see the Phillies back in the desert come October. The Snakes are solid MLB betting favorites for Tuesday’s Phillies at Diamondbacks behind ace Zack Greinke.
Nick Ahmed ranks second among Major League shortstops with 13 defensive runs saved, trailing only Andrelton Simmons/LAA (15), ahead of Addison Russell/CHC (11) and Francisco Lindor/CLE (11). Cather Jeff Mathis is tied with Austin Barnes/LAD for the Major League lead with 9 defensive runs saved, ahead of Sandy Leon/BOS (8), and Buster Posey/SF (8).
It’s ace Zack Greinke (12-6, 2.96) on the mound. Greinke allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five across six innings but took the loss Thursday against the Giants. Greinke was taken deep by Evan Longoria in the first inning but rebounded by not allowing another earned run until the fifth inning. Despite taking the loss, there’s little to be concerned about as Greinke remains among the National League leaders in strikeouts (148), WHIP (1.04) and ERA.
Over his last eight starts, Greinke is 6-1 with a 1.37 ERA.
Phillies at Diamondbacks MLB Spread & Game Preview
David Peralta’s 9th-inning #DbacksJack to start the rally? It was Peralta’s 18th of the season, setting a career high.
The 19th homer was memorable too. #FreightTrain pic.twitter.com/vkocIwI6dI — Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) 7 de agosto de 2018
- When: Tuesday, 9:40 PM ET
- Where: Chase Field, Phoenix
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Nick Pivetta/Zack Greinke
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: TuneIn
- MLB Spread: Diamondbacks -162, Phillies +152 (8)
Astros vs Giants MLB Odds & Expert Betting Prediction
Why Bet on Philadelphia?
On Monday, the Phillies sent 3B Trevor Plouffe outright to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 32-year-old played in seven games with the Phillies, hitting .250/.250/.500 with a homer and three RBI in 12 plate appearances. New Phillies shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to lead the Phillies past the Marlins on Sunday. Cabrera broke a 3-3 tie with his blast off Drew Steckenrider. It was his 20th homer of the year. Philadelphia’s sweep over the Marlins was their third four-game sweep already this season (others: 4/19-22 vs PIT, 5/7-10 vs SF), their most in a season since 2011 (3). With two more four-game series on the docket in September, the Phillies have a chance to sweep four of them in a season for the first time since 1953. The Phillies have now either had sole possession of or have been tied for first place since the end of play on July 6, a span of 30 straight days. In those 30 days, the Phillies pitchers rank first in the National League and third in baseball with a 3.34 ERA and have allowed the second-fewest baserunners per 9.0 innings (10.34), trailing only the Dodgers. Philadelphia’s 16 wins in that span are second in the National League to Pittsburgh’s 17. The Phillies’ 37 home runs since July 6 are most in the NL and trail only the Oakland Athletics (39) in all of baseball. It’s Nick Pivetta (6-9, 4.75) on the mound. Pivetta gave up two runs on four hits and zero walks while striking out seven in six innings Thursday against the Marlins. He did not factor in the decision. Pivetta was fairly efficient by his standards, needing 89 pitches (65 strikes) to get the quality start. The only runs he allowed came on a two-run homer by Justin Bour. He now ranks 14th in the majors with 141 strikeouts (in 113.2 innings) on the season. The Phillies believe Pivetta’s 6.42 ERA over his past 11 starts is not indicative of the way he has pitched or will pitch down the stretch. He has struck out 73 and walked 17 in 54 2/3 innings in that 11-start span.Why Bet on Arizona?
Outfielder Steven Souza continued his hot hitting in Sunday’s loss to the Giants, going 1-for-3 with a solo homer. Souza opened the scoring in the game with a solo shot off of Derek Holland in the second inning. He has been terrific since the All-Star break, hitting .327 (16-for-49) with two homers and 13 RBI in 13 games. Arizona leads the Majors with 92 first-inning runs, ahead of Colorado (82), Seattle (79) and Cleveland (78). The D-backs’ .381 on-base pct. in the first inning is also best in the Majors. The D-backs also ranks second overall in runs scored in the first 2 innings (144), behind the Rockies (149) and ahead of the Nationals (139), Red Sox (137) and Indians (137). Ketel Marte has 10 home runs and 10 triples this season, the fourth player (seventh time) that a D-backs player has reached that milestone in franchise history.
Nick Ahmed ranks second among Major League shortstops with 13 defensive runs saved, trailing only Andrelton Simmons/LAA (15), ahead of Addison Russell/CHC (11) and Francisco Lindor/CLE (11). Cather Jeff Mathis is tied with Austin Barnes/LAD for the Major League lead with 9 defensive runs saved, ahead of Sandy Leon/BOS (8), and Buster Posey/SF (8).
It’s ace Zack Greinke (12-6, 2.96) on the mound. Greinke allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five across six innings but took the loss Thursday against the Giants. Greinke was taken deep by Evan Longoria in the first inning but rebounded by not allowing another earned run until the fifth inning. Despite taking the loss, there’s little to be concerned about as Greinke remains among the National League leaders in strikeouts (148), WHIP (1.04) and ERA.
Over his last eight starts, Greinke is 6-1 with a 1.37 ERA.
Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Phillies are 2-8 in Pivetta’s last 10 starts vs. National League West
- Phillies are 2-8 in Pivetta’s last 10 road starts vs. a team with a winning record
- Diamondbacks are 10-2 in Greinke’s last 12 starts vs. National League East
- Diamondbacks are 5-1 in Greinke’s last 6 starts vs. a team with a winning record
- Philadelphia is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
- Philadelphia is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Philadelphia’s last 9 games
- Arizona is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 games
- Arizona is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone OVER in 8 of Arizona’s last 11 games
