Phillies listed as -145 favorite to win Cubs series

The Philadelphia Phillies have lost four of their last five road series.

In fact, the series win over the Detroit Tigers was the Phils’ only road win in the last month.

Of course, the Phils were affected by the return trip from London, which took them straight to Boston and Baltimore, but it’s still amazing to see that statistic for one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. It also highlights how strong the Phils were at Citizens Bank Park.

Given their recent away numbers, the Phillies are understandably considered -145 favorites to win the midweek series against the Chicago Cubs.

Given the Cubs’ poor performance recently, the Windy City is expecting a series win, even without Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

They enter the series with a record of 3-7 in their last 10 games. They have scored one or two runs in six of their last seven losses.

Translation: You think the Phils would be in trouble without Schwarber and Harper? Well guess what, it could be a lot worse.

Tuesday’s opener will be a pure gamble if you’re watching this game on sports betting apps in PA or New Jersey. Michael Mercado will be making his first start at No. 5. The Cubs could be the perfect opponent to ease the nerves, as their offense has been pathetic of late.

The Cubs are banking on Hayden Wesneski, who has been alternating between the rotation and bullpen for most of the year. He is Mercado’s equal opponent.

Wednesday’s clash between Zack Wheeler and Shota Imanaga could be a close-run duel that could change the National League Cy Young market (more on that tomorrow).

It’s hard to believe that Cristopher Sanchez won’t have a stellar performance on Thursday after his last two starts. Sure, Sanchez’s away splits are worse than his home splits, but he’s one of the best pitchers in the major leagues right now and it’ll be hard to see him slack against the Cubs offense.

The Phillies probably only need to score four or five runs to beat the Cubs twice this week. That’s a bare minimum expectation and one that’s not exactly doable against the league’s top teams, but it’s the perfect series to win with pitching and maybe some small ball from the bottom of the order to gain a little extra confidence for the weekend series with the Atlanta Braves.