Phillies Could Sweep the Diamondbacks This Weekend
D'backs vs Phillies Series Preview: Arizona Isn't Fully Healthy Yet
The Philadelphia Phillies will likely become the second team in the MLB to win 50 games this season. They’re sitting at 49-27 and will begin a three-game home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. While the Phillies are among the league’s best, the Arizona Diamondbacks are average at best. Arizona made it to the World Series last season but is below .500 this year.
That said, there’s still plenty of time for the Diamondbacks to earn an NL Wild Card spot. We’re not even halfway through the season yet!
In Game 1 of this series, the Phillies are -130, with the total at 10. However, the Under is slightly juiced to -118.
We’ll discuss that game and the other two matchups in our D’backs vs Phillies series preview below.
Diamondbacks vs Phillies 
📊Records: Arizona Diamondbacks (37-38), Philadelphia Phillies (49-25)
📍Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
⏰Day/Time: 📺Streaming: Apple TV+
Alek Thomas’ Rehab Delayed
The young Arizona outfielder, Alek Thomas, has been on the shelf since March 31 with a hamstring strain. Earlier this week, the Diamondbacks figured he’d be in Triple-A to complete his rehab assignment.
However, he’s still in the Arizona Complex League and will be there through Saturday.
The Diamondbacks suggested they won’t want to rush Thomas and have a longer problem.
How Can The Phillies Improve?
Although the Phillies are first in the National League East, there’s still room for improvement. There’s been chatter about who the Phillies could pursue by the MLB Trade Deadline.
They’ll likely look at some outfield depth with Johan Rojas struggling there. Rojas has hit a .235 average in 58 games this season. That’ll be the area where the Phillies improve by the deadline.
D’backs vs Phillies Series Preview & Odds For Game 1:
RL: Phillies -1.5 (+150) ML: Phillies -130, O/U: 10 -102/-118
⚾ Game 1 ⚾
Friday, 6:40 pm ET
Jordan Mongomery vs. Taijuan Walker
The Diamondbacks will run it back with Jordan Montgomery to begin the first game of this series. The veteran lefty has a 6.00 ERA but is also 5-4 on the season. That said, he’s allowed a .211 ISO and wOBA of .422 to his last 98 righties and has only struck out 15% of batters this season.
He’ll be in line to face a Phillies lineup that has hit a .191 ISO and wOBA of .374 over the last 30 days against lefties. They’ve got five batters with an ISO of at least .222 against lefties over the previous month.
On the other hand, Taijuan Walker will get the call for the Phillies. He’s a righty who has struggled against lefties over the last 30 days. Walker has allowed a .263 ISO and wOBA of .400 to his previous 67 lefties and has only struck out 16.4% of those lefties in that time.
In the Arizona lineup, he’ll likely have to face most lefties. Those lefties have a wOBA of .359, with just 15.9% of strikeouts in the last 30 days against righties.
Therefore, the Over 9.5 (-112) is one of our favorite MLB predictions for today.
⚾ Game 2 ⚾
Saturday, 4:05 pm ET
Tommy Henry vs. Zack Wheeler
Arizona will stick with another lefty in Game 2. It’ll be Tommy Henry on the mound, with an ERA of 6.23. Henry has only struck out 12.1% of his last 33 batters and has allowed a .476 ISO and wOBA of .500 to his previous 26 righties.
That would be good against right-handed bats like Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos.
On the other hand, Zack Wheeler will start for the Phillies. He’s got the stats of an ace, holding a 2.84 ERA on the year. However, the right-hander has struggled against lefties over the last 30 days.
Wheeler has allowed a .156 ISO and wOBA of .311 with just 23.4% of ground balls induced against lefties. He’s also walked lefties 11% of the time in the last month and has earned just 22.4% of strikeouts overall in the last 30 days.
Yet, despite these stats, Wheeler still outperformed Henry at a high rate and deserves to be a heavy favorite heading into this game. Take the Phillies spread in Saturday’s game, also known as the runline, -1.5. The Phillies are about to go wild on the MLB scoreboard.
⚾ Game 3 ⚾
Sunday, 11:35 pm ET
Slade Cecconi vs. Cristopher Sanchez
Arizona’s starting pitching isn’t getting better. Slade Cecconi, with his 5.90 ERA this season, will take the mound.
Cecconi has allowed a .209 ISO and wOBA of .333 to his last 117 batters. He’s also earned below 18% of strikeouts in that time. Cecconi likely won’t enjoy throwing to lefties like Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Those two are extremely hot at the plate as left-handed batters.
Conversely, Philadelphia will throw Cristopher Sanchez. He’s also got an ERA below 3, sitting at 2.91. Sanchez, a left-handed thrower, has allowed a .047 ISO and wOBA of .262 to his lasting 93 righties. He’ll likely face more righties in Arizona’s lineup as a lefty. That said, Sanchez has induced 52.9% of ground balls against righties and even has a higher strikeout rate against righties.
Don’t be surprised if the Phillies sweep the Diamondbacks at home in our D’backs vs Phillies series preview.
D’backs vs Phillies Odds
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