MLB Betting – Phillies vs Padres Preview & Prediction
The Phillies are coming off a win, but they are in the basement of the NL East being the only team in the division that does not have a winning record.
Venue/ Stadium: Petco Park, San Diego, California
Time/Date: 10:05 PM EST Friday, April 20, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: Phillies -135 / Padres +115
Over/Under: 6 runs
Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres Preview
The Padres are off to a horrid start, as they are not only in the basement of the NL West 7.5 games behind the Dodgers, but they have the worst record in the National League and are tied with the Royals for the fewest wins in the Majors. MLB lines have the Phillies as the road favorite in this game with a total of 6.
This season the Padres are only 2-6 at home and the Phillies are 3-4 on the road.
In last night’s opening series game between these 2 teams the Phillies blanked the Padres winning 2-0.
This season the Phillies have an O/U record of 6-7 with a run-line W/L record of 5-8 and the Padres have an O/U record of 6-6 with a run-line W/L record of 4-10.
To say the Phillies have dominated the Padres at Petco Park is an understatement, as they have won 25 of their last 29 games in sunny San Diego. Last night’s win was the Phillies 12th straight at Petco Park.
Cole Hamels (1-1, 3.65 ERA) takes the mound for the Phillies and he was solid in his last start only giving up 2 earned runs in 7 innings getting a win over the Mets. On the hill for the Padres is Edinson Volquez (0-1, 4.24 ERA), who gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
In his last 3 starts facing the Padres in San Diego Hamels is 3-0 with an ERA of only 0.38.
Volquez is limiting opponents to a.186 average and he has 15 strikeouts in 12 innings at home this season.
The Phillies will need a good outing from Hamels since their offense has continued to struggle without Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in the lineup ranking 29th in the league in runs scored.
The Padres’ offense is also struggling ranking 23rd in the league in runs scored and in losing 7 of their last 8 games they are not getting hits when it matters only batting .206 as a team with runners in scoring position. Chase Headley leads everyday players batting .292 with 4 HR and 12 RBI, but he is not getting much help since no other San Diego player has more than 1 HR of 6 RBI.
In some betting trends for this National League match up the Phillies are 14-5-1 in Phillies last 20 road games, 4-1 in Hamels’ last 5 starts vs. Padres, and they have an Under record of 14-5-1 in their last 20 road games.
The Padres are 1-7 in their last 8 overall, 16-35 in their last 51 games as a home underdog, and they have an Under record of 4-0 in their last 4 home games.
Jason’s Pick: I think Hamels will have another good start in his hometown of San Diego and even with a struggling offense the Phillies will win this game.
