Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs
8:05 PM Sunday July 18, FOX
FREE Expert MLB Picks
Pitching Probables: Roy Halladay vs. Tom Gorzellany
The Phillies rebounded yesterday to grab a win behind a strong pitching performance by Cole Hamels – bu they still needed four in the top of the ninth to get the victory. There is just no explaining this Philly team. There is also no explaining how good Roy Halladay is. He is off back to back complete games and often goes the distance. His current ERA is his best ever and seems to have no trouble adjusting to the NL. That said he has never beaten the Cubbies although he hasn’t faced them since moving to the Senior circuit. The Phillies need to get right and quickly as they square off on the road against St. Louis next and those guys are rolling.
The Cubs are mired in another disappointing season. Most players on the roster have grossly underperformed and their one consistent force, closer and strikeout artist Carlos Marmol, gave up 4 runs in the loss last night. An unexpected bright spot has been the recent performance of starter Tom Gorzellany. A Pirates retread, he has back to back to back strong outings and leads the team in ERA. In his only start against Philly this year he shut them out for 6 plus innning back in May…he only gave up 3 hits but threw a lot of pitches. He needs to cut down so he can last deeper into games. The Cubs offense has been so sporadic it is hard to say who will come through but Aramis Ramirez and All-Star Marlon Byrd have been the most productive lately. Ramirez has struggled (.200) but Byrd has a lifetime .385 average against Halladay.
Prediction: It may be my Toronto roots but I never bet against Halladay – he is just too good and fights to stay in the game. Sorry Cubs fans this looks like another Sunday night beatdown.
Score Prediction:
Philadelphia Phillies – 3
Chicago Cubs – 0
The odds makers have the Philadelphia Phillies as a -1½ favorite with a run total of 7½.
Philadelphia Phillies Betting Trends:
- Philadelphia is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
- Philadelphia is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
- Philadelphia is 9-4 SU in their last 13 games when playing Chi Cubs
- Philadelphia is 6-2 SU in their last 8 games when playing on the road against Chi Cubs
Chicago Cubs Betting Trends:
- Chi Cubs are 4-9 SU in their last 13 games when playing Philadelphia
- Chi Cubs are 2-6 SU in their last 8 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
I am a huge fan of the Phillies so i really liked reading your article on the Philadelphia Phillies. I am lucky i got tickets for the up coming baseball game for Philadelphia.