Philadelphia Phillies (4-9) vs. Cincinnati Reds (5-7)
April 15, 2023 4:10 pm EDT
The Line: Cincinnati Reds +120 / Philadelphia Phillies -152; Over/Under: +9.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds meet Saturday in MLB action from Great American Ball Park. This will be the third installment in a four-game series. The Reds took a victory in the Thursday opener, then on Friday the Phillies evened it up with a five-run win. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies had nine hits in the Thursday opener of this series but couldn’t get much going on the scoreboard in a 6-2 defeat. On Friday Philadelphia had 13 team hits during an 8-3 victory. Starting pitcher Taijuan Walker put up 6.0 frames with one earned on four hits and two walks.
As starter for the Saturday matchup, the Phillies will send out Matt Strahm. In three games (two starts) this year Strahm is 1-0 with a clean ERA. He has 10 Ks in 10.0 innings. Strahm is 18-28 in his career with a 3.69 ERA.
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds had a good offensive outing on Thursday, posting three runs in the third inning on the way to 10 team hits. In game two Cincinnati gave up five runs in the first three innings and couldn’t dig out of the hole. Connor Overton finished with 3.0 innings, five earned, five hits and three walks.
Graham Ashcraft will make the start for the Reds on Saturday. This year over two starts Ashcraft is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 13 Ks in 13.0 innings. He’s 6-6 with a 4.58 ERA in 21 career starts.
The Phillies are 16-7 in their last 23 versus the NL Central and 0-4 in their last four in game three of a series. The under is 4-1 in Philly’s last five in game three of a series.
Meanwhile, the Reds are 11-27 in their last 38 overall and 5-16 in their last 21 versus the NL East. Cincinnati is 2-7 in their last nine in game three of a series.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to take a stab on Philadelphia here. We should have a good starter matchup on our hands regardless. Strahm is doing well so far this year and hasn’t given up an earned run over 10.0 innings. He’s coming off 5.0 clean frames in a win over Miami. As for Ashcraft, he’s been solid as well with three earned in 13.0 innings total. On Friday, the Phillies had a pretty solid all-around game and got some decent efforts from a handful of pitchers. I like Philadelphia to keep it going on Saturday.
