Back Phillies To Head Home Up 2-0
Phillies vs. Braves, 6:07 ET
Well... after a solid enough first round on the daily plays, I didn't have any in the first two days of the Division Series. I'm back now and have a play in one of the National League Series, but first, I should mention we are sitting pretty in three of the four series. The Rangers are up 2-0, the Diamondbacks and Phillies took the opening games, and we have bets on all three of them to win. The Astros and Twins wasn't an official play but that is tied up 1-1. So now we go to the individual game and focus in on the Phillies as they look to take a commanding 2-0 lead over the Braves in this best of five series.
The Phillies are doing it again. They look like they are getting hot at the right time and they were able to do something basically no other team had done in quite some time as they held the Braves to no runs. This was the Braves first shutout since May 12th and the first time at home all season. Much has been made about the Braves prolific offense, and it should be, but the Phillies are no slouch offensively. With Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and JT Realmuto, they have an offense that can get through slumps fairly quickly. That doesn't even mention the likes of Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, or Brandon Marsh. If anyone was going to battle the Braves it was likely to be the Phillies. Tonight, they send out their best stater as well to support their potent offense. Zack Wheeler takes the ball and he was brilliant in his first postseason start this year against the Marlins. Being in the same division, he has faced the Braves a few times this season. The good news for Phillies fans is that in the two road starts by Wheeler against the Braves, he went 14 innings and allowed just one earned run - a solo homer. In those two combined starts, he allowed just six hits and struck out 17 Braves hitters.
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 04: Max Fried #54 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Miami Marlins in the first inning at Truist Park on September 4, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images)
You do need to question where the Braves mindset is in this game. They know that one game doesn't mean everything, but they absolutely need to win this one. The franchise has a history of great regular seasons and coming up empty in the playoffs. This team isn't responsible for many of those (maybe just last year if you want to count it) but you do have to wonder what their thought is after getting blanked in the first game. Do they start to panic and put pressure on themselves, or do they realize they are the best offensive team we've seen in a while and just play their game? Facing Wheeler won't be easy, but they have someone who should at least limit the Philly damage in Max Fried. I have always liked Fried, but he's only pitched against the Phillies ones this season. He went five innings and allowed one solo homer to them. Historically, they've hit Fried pretty well as he has allowed them to bat almost .300 against him. The postseason also hasn't been exactly kind to Fried as he has a 4.43 ERA and has allowed eight homers in 18 games. He faced the Phillies almost exactly a year ago at home and went 3.1 innings, allowed 8 hits and six runs (four earned). It ended up being a 7-6 Braves loss.
Sorry Atlanta, but I think the Phillies keep rolling here. Wheeler has proven to be a big postseason pitcher and as much as I like and support Fried, I like and support my money more. Backing him as a -155 favorite doesn't make sense. I like the Phillies to win this game and I think Wheeler will do a better job of navigating the Braves lineup. Philadelphia is playing with house money and Atlanta is now playing to not lose rather than to win. Back Philly at +130.
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