It takes quite the stomach nowadays to bet on the Philadelphia Phillies (27-54, -19.05 Units). However, they have at least started to put some runs on the board of late, which could make them a decent play against the Atlanta Braves (38-41 SU, +3.97 Units) on the Fourth of July.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The series between these two teams has been fairly even this year with three wins apiece in the six duels. The Braves have not surprising been favored in all six, which gives Philadelphia the slender profit of 0.50 units in those six games. The spread here on Independence Day will be significantly higher than what we have seen thus far this season though, which definitely bears being considered.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Kevin Correia was a free agent at the start of this season for a reason. Sure, his stats will suggest that he has a 3.60 ERA, but anyone who has watched him pitch understands that he is nothing more than exactly what he is: a fifth starter on a bad team.
Correia has also allowed five unearned runs to go with his eight earned runs over 20 innings of work.
Alex Wood meanwhile, has been an unlucky 5-5. Any man who has 14 starts out of 15 with three runs or fewer allowed should be an above .500 pitcher, but that just hasn't turned out to be the case for the UGA product.
Wood is coming off of his best start of the season against the Pirates in which he allowed just five hits in 7.1 scoreless innings, but we do have to remember that his one start this year against the Phillies was dreadful, as he allowed nine hits and three runs in just 4.1 innings.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Everybody can sit there and say, 'Just throw strikes and execute pitches.' It's not always that simple. Approaches are different in different innings. Approaches are different based on different scores. So you just go out there and work as hard as you can to stay healthy and execute, and just take your lumps because they're going to happen." – Phillies reliever Justin De Fratus on the frustration of pitching in the Philadelphia bullpen this year
SITUATIONAL BETTING
The Phils have one of the most overused bullpens in the bigs this year, and that pen will surely get more work on Saturday night. Justin De Fratus has already thrown 41.2 innings and has tossed 90 more pitches than any other reliever in baseball. Only Arizona and Tampa Bay have used their respective bullpens for longer this year than Philadelphia has.
PROP TALK
We love what young Maikel Franco is doing right now for the Phils. Yes, he went 0-for-6 on Thursday night, but he is still batting .294 and has 10 homers in just 180 at bats. He's got 23 extra base hits in just 45 games, and if he keeps that up, he'll evolve into one of the best third basemen in the game. Franco is definitely worth remembering for prop purposes on Saturday.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
We like Philly's chances in this one. The Phils could be getting +200 in this game, and that would just be ridiculous against an Atlanta team which just isn't all that good.
The Phillies have hit the ball well and just haven't been able to keep teams off the scoreboard. It'll probably be another struggle for Correia, but if this offense can keep it up again, the Phils could land their tenth road win of the season.
Philadelphia 7, Atlanta 5
The MLB lines for this Saturday contest will be first released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
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 Philadelphia Phillies versus the Atlanta Braves will commence at 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 4, 2015 at Turner Field in Atlanta, GA. The matchup will be televised live on FOX.
