A surging Baltimore Orioles (32-31, $105) club will look to take advantage of their final game against the lowly Philadelphia Phillies (22-43, -$1741) as they continue to climb their way up the standings.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Orioles ran away with the AL East last year, but got off to a rocky start to the season this year, but have finally turned things around of late.
Over their last 11 games, the Birds have captured nine wins to push themselves back over .500. Back on June 13 was the first time the O’s were over .500 since way back on May 3.
While Baltimore is playing the most inspired baseball they have all year, the Phillies continue to struggle. With little to offer on either side of the ball, Philadelphia has dropped seven straight and 19 of their last 23 games, including the first of four against the O’s on Monday.
PITCHING MATCHUP
In an interesting matchup, the Orioles will send Bud Norris to the hill to wrap up the series with the Phillies against Sean O’Sullivan.
Norris has inflated numbers this year after a rough start that was plagued by an illness. Overall, Norris is just 2-4 with a 8.29 ERA and 1.711 WHIP over 38 innings. Since his return off the disabled list, he has been a bit better, going 10 2/3 innings and allowing five earned runs in two starts.
In his career against the Phillies, Norris is 1-3 with a 4.21 ERA and 1.403 WHIP.
On the other side, O’Sullivan has not exactly dominated either as the 27-year old right-hander is just 1-5 this year with a 5.08 ERA and 1.461 WHIP. His FIP is actually higher than Norris’s at 5.77 compared to 4.66 for Norris.
In his last game, he lasted six innings, but gave up four runs in the loss. Overall, he has four quality starts in nine appearances.
QUOTE TO NOTE
Since Matt Wieters’ return from Tommy John surgery, the Orioles have been producing and when asked about how he feels, the veteran catcher had this to say:
“It feels good. It feels strong. I feel confident I can make every throw. I think the big thing now is being able to get that recovery on the day in between, still.”
What Wieters is referring to is how Buck Showalter refuses to catch him in back to back games, leaning more on back up Caleb Joseph who proved capable in Wieters’ absence.
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
Given neither pitcher has dominated this season, this one may boil down to an offensive showdown, in which case the Orioles have the clear edge.
The Phillies rank dead last in all of baseball in runs with just 3.03 per game. The team is also last in home runs (36) and OPS (.634). The O’s, on the other hand, have not been nearly as dominant with the long ball as in years past, but have still smashed 71 and are averaging 4.27 runs per game.
When looking at the individual numbers, it is easy to see why the Orioles have had more overall success. To skew things even more, Baltimore is coming out of a significant offensive slump thanks to the return of Matt Wieters off the disabled listed and Nolan Reimold’s promotion from Triple-A.
Since his return, Wieters is 9 for 27 with three doubles, a triple and a pair of home runs. Reimold has also delivered two homers in his 20 at bats.
In addition to those two, the O’s have Chris Davis with a .787 OPS and 13 home runs, Manny Machado with a .818 OPS and 11 home runs and Adam Jones with a .836 OPS and 10 bombs.
As a comparison, the Phillies only have two players performing at or above league average at the plate in Ryan Howard (.732 OPS) and rookie Maikel Franco (.830 OPS).
PROP TALK
Despite pitching in the National League with the Astros before they changed leagues, Norris has little experience against the Phillies, though he has faced long standing Phills in Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley.
Norris has the upper hand on Ruiz who is just 1 for 11 against Norris with a pair of strike outs. The other two, however, have done reasonably well. Utley is 2 for 7 and Howard is 4 for 13 with a pair of doubles and a home run.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Orioles will lose the DH on Thursday which is troublesome for a team that has thrived with Wieters in the lineup, but does not figure to catch him on back-to-back days. Still, the rest of the team is coming around, too.
Overall, I do not have much confidence in either starter, but the Orioles’ offense is so much better than the Phillies that they should score the easy win.
Baltimore 8, Philadelphia 3
The MLB lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Baltimore Orioles versus the Philadelphia Phillies will commence Thursday, June 18, 2015, at 1:05 p.m. ET at Citizens Bank Park. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
