Thursday MLB Baseball Picks: Phillies vs Diamondbacks Game 1
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Philadelphia Phillies vs Arizona Diamondbacks – Friday, April 23rd 9:40 P.M
Baseball Gambling Lines:
Philadelphia -180
Arizona +160
10.5u -120
The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Chase Field in Arizona to begin a three game weekend series against the Diamondbacks starting tonight at 9:40 P.M. (ET)
Philadelphia survived an early season mini-slump by taking the last two games of a three game series with Atlanta after previously losing four out of their last five. After blowing a three run lead in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Braves in yet another poor performance by the pen, Roy Halladay along with some incredible defense pitched his second complete game in Wednesday’s 2-0 win.
They won the series with a solid 8-3 victory last night to regain sole possession of first place with 1 ½ game lead over Florida.
Tonight, Cole Hamels makes his third start of the season. So far he appears to getting back into the form that made him the MVP of the 2008 World Series. He is 2-1 with an ERA of 3.86 and 19 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work. In his last outing, a 0-2 loss to the Marlins he went eight innings giving up two earned runs on seven hits but struck out eight.
Offensively, the Phillies continue to score runs in bunches with four players already in double figures for RBI’s led by Ryan Howard’s 16. Offseason acquisition Placido Polanco continues to impress, leading the team with a .383 batting average and 23 hits.
Arizona is not off to the start they had hoped for. They are currently in last place in the NL West with a record of 6-9, three games in back of San Diego. They come into this game reeling a bit, having lost six out of their last seven games. After getting swept by the Padres three straight, they only managed to win one out of three against St. Louis in their last two series.
Much of their woes can be pinned to a number of letdowns in their bullpen as for the most part have been able to put some runs on the board. 
On the mound tonight for the Diamondbacks, Kris Benson makes his second start of the season as he tries to work himself into the starting rotation. In his first outing he went six innings giving up six hits and two earned runs but got pinned with the loss.
Much of the D-Backs run production so far has been generated by Chris Young (15 RBI’s) and Mark Reynolds (14 RBI’s). Stephen Drew has been the most consistent batter, leading the team with a .315 average.
After stumbling a bit, Philadelphia is back on track combining solid pitching from their starters with consistent run production from their lineup.
I expect another good outing from Hamels as the Phillies take the first one in the desert.
Gambling Trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games when playing on the road against Arizona
Philadelphia is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona’s last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona’s last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Arizona’s last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona’s last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Arizona
Philadelphia is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Phillies vs. Diamondbacks MLB Free Pick: Philadelphia -180
