It's Going To Be A Bloodbath

White Sox vs. Phillies, 6:05 ET

Baseball is funny. When I was a kid the only thing you heard about was the importance of having a 20-game winner on your staff. There was buzz around guys that had a chance to win 300 games. 10-20 years later, the idea of someone winning 300 games seems like it just won't happen. Justin Verlander is closest with 257, but he's 41. As well, now, people tend to ignore records for pitchers and say they aren't an important stat. I think the justification for that argument could actually be showcased in this game. One pitcher for the White Sox comes in with an 0-2 record and bad statistics, and another pitcher for the Phillies comes in with an 0-3 record, but almost everyone would take his pitching line. 

The White Sox are a trash team that makes me more angry than justifiable for someone that has never liked them. I'm a Cubs fan, I've made that very clear, but this team had all the talent in the world and found ways to make themselves irrelevant. There is an odd loyalty to management there which clearly set the franchise back, and caused them to lead a manager who was out of touch with his team. They've essentially traded off the majority of the team's talent and look to rebuild after failing with a loaded roster that was picked to be a World Series contender. I need to get over it, but just can't. Today they have Michael Soroka taking the pill and his season has been tough for three of his four starts. In his one good start, he went six innings and allowed just two earned runs. The other three starts he allowed at least four earned runs in five or fewer innings. He has allowed one home run in each of his starts and the Phillies can certainly pounce on mistake-prone pitchers. They have seen him before but haven't hit a homer off of him. However, they are 11-for-37 against him. 

The Phillies have a ton of guys on their roster that I enjoy rooting for. Say what you want about Bryce Harper, but the guy tries. He is passionate, fiery, and sure, arrogant. Kyle Schwarber is a monster at the dish with the potential to send the ball 400 feet any time you toss it to him. Trea Turner does a little bit of everything and is off to the start that I'm sure he hoped for last season. It was even a great moment last year when he went on a tear after the fans started cheering for him. The Phillies are only a few games over .500 right now, but they seem to have that extra gear for the playoffs. They turn it on and… BAM they are fighting to get into the World Series. Today, they bring that tough lineup and their Ace pitcher to take on the pathetic White Sox. Zack Wheeler is 0-3 but he has produced three quality starts in his four outings. The Phillies have lost all four games that he has started and only provided him six total runs in those 36 innings. Wheeler will likely be dominant and the Phillies shouldn't struggle to score against Soroka. 

I think the Phillies are going to absolutely murder the White Sox in this game. Wheeler is clearly the superior pitcher and the Phillies hitters get a chance to hit against a guy that they've seen and had some success against. I expect Wheeler to earn his first win of the season, and he probably will dominate the majority of the game. I'll take the Phillies run line in this game and I will also put a sprinkle on Wheeler to record a win. 

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