It’s a potential National League playoff preview on Monday night when the NL East-leading v and Cy Young contender Zack Wheeler host the Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, who are big underdogs on the MLB odds.
The Brewers come in with a 5-game winning streak, while Philadelphia comes in with 1 loss on the road.
| MLB Picks Phillies -200, Brewers +180 (total 8.5) Score Prediction Phillies 4, Brewers 3 |
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers gave a couple of regulars off for Sunday’s series finale against the White Sox but purely for rest reasons. Shortstop Willy Adames and catcher William Contreras were not originally in the lineup but then both added to it late. Neither Contreras nor Adames has had a game off this season – each playing in all 59. The team record for most games started by Brewers teammates to open a season is 63 in a row way back in 1975.
Contreras has played in 96 straight games — all starts – dating back to last season. His most recent game missed came on 8/20/23 at Texas. Adames entered Sunday hitting .372 with six doubles, two homers, 13 RBI and seven runs over his past 11.
First baseman Rhys Hoskins returned over the weekend without a minor league rehab assignment after missing 15 games with a strained right hamstring. Hoskins did get Sunday off but should be in there Monday. The former Phillies slugger is batting .239 with nine homers and 27 RBIs.
“Rhys is back. It’s huge, just because of who he is,” Manager Pat Murphy said. “It’s not just the experience and the ability, it’s who he is. It helps us, another right-handed bat and a power bat and a quality at-bat. It’s not a swing and miss kind of thing. It’s a good at-bat and the league knows it. It helps the lineup. I just love how he competes.”
Brice Turang notched his 20th stolen base of the season in his 54th game. He became the fastest Brewer to reach 20 stolen bases in a season since Jonathan Villar, who also stole his 20th base in his 54th game in 2016 on his way to 62 steals.
It’s righty Bryse Wilson (3-1) scheduled on the mound Monday. Wilson allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out one over four innings in a no-decision versus the Cubs last Wednesday. Wilson worked a clean first inning, then gave up a solo homer to Ian Happ in the second. Happ would reach base once again in the fourth and advanced to third on a balk before a groundout brought him in to score the second run. An error and a base hit to start the fifth chased Wilson from the game with two runners on and no outs at 82 pitches. While both inherited runners would score, only two runs on the day were earned.
Wilson was decent in his return to a starting role after making his last appearance behind an opener. It was the first time all year that he allowed more than two runs in an outing. Wilson has a 3.19 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 39:19 K:BB over 48 innings across 14 appearances (seven starts) in 2024.
The Brewers are 18-13 on the road, going 5-4-1 in series play. The team took 2 of 3 games at Boston on its last trip to snap a streak of four straight road series losses. The Brewers went 4-0-1 in their first five road series this season.
^Philadelphia Phillies
The 2024 Phillies are already only the fourth club in franchise history to win 40+ of their first 60 games of a season – they are joined by the 1993 club (43-17), 1976 club (42-18) and the 1893 club (40-20). B: Since April 25, the Phillies are 27-8. Of Philadelphia’s eight losses in this span (4 of which were in extra innings), five have been 1-run losses.
Philadelphia has scored 48 runs in the 1st inning this season, most of any club in baseball. As a team, the Phils are slashing .283/.362/.498 in the 1st inning with an .860 OPS. They are 34-2 this season when leading after 6 innings (.944 win %), 35-2 when leading after 7 (.946 win %) and 35-1 when leading after 8 (.972 win %).
The Phillies almost saw disaster over the weekend when their other Cy Young contender, Ranger Suarez, was hit in his hand by a comebacker during his start Saturday. The 29-year-old is expected to avoid the injured list as X-rays were negative. He’s been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season, boasting a 9-1 record with a 1.70 ERA across 74.0 innings. Suarez is slated to take the mound against the Mets next weekend in London, but it’s still unclear whether or not he’ll be able to take the hill.
Star catcher JT Realmuto, still one of the best in the majors, got Sunday’s finale against the Cardinals off but simply for rest. In 204 plate appearances this season, Realmuto has a .272 batting average with a .748 OPS. He’s also terrific behind the plate.
It’s ace righty and NL Cy Young favorite Zack Wheeler (6-3) on the mound Monday. Wheeler did not factor into the decision in last Tuesday’s loss to the Giants, throwing six scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and two walks. He struck out nine. Wheeler’s excellent start got wasted after the Phillies were shut out.
The Giants scattered just two hits against him, and his most dominant inning came in the third when he struck out the side. It was Wheeler’s third start this season tossing a shutout while allowing two or fewer hits and striking out at least eight. He now has nine quality starts in 12 tries and will carry a 2.32 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 85:23 K:BB (73.2 innings) into Monday. His fastball hit 98 mph last time out.
“I thought [Wheeler] was fantastic,” Manager Rob Thomson said. “First-pitch strikes were good, stuff was good. 98 in the first inning. That’s really good stuff. All our pitchers threw well. They really did.”
Wheeler is 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA in nine career starts vs. Milwaukee. The Phillies starting rotation currently leads MLB in ERA, innings pitched, strikeout rate (25.0%), xFIP (3.29) and fWAR (8.2).
^MyBookie MLB Updated Odds
Bet Brewers at Phillies MLB Odds
When: Monday, 6:40 PM ET
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Pitchers (away/home): Bryse Wilson/Zack Wheeler
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
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