Cristopher Sánchez will get the start for the Phillies (69-58, 36-25 home) as they host the Cardinals (56-72, 28-35 away) at Citizens Bank Park. The Cardinals will give the starting nod to Miles Mikolas. Check out my prediction for game one of this National League matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS VS PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES BETTING PICK

The Pick: Philadelphia Phillies -145

This game will be played at Citizens Bank Park at 7:05 ET on Friday, August 25th.

WHY BET THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES:

  • In their previous five games, the Phillies have a record of 3-2.
  • The Phillies are 3-2 straight-up in their five most recent games as the favorite.
  • The Phillies are 2-0 in Cristopher Sánchez’s last two starts.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS LOOKING FOR UPSET AS ROAD UNDERDOGS

So far this season, the Cardinals have a series record of 15-20-5 and overall record of 56-72. This mark has St. Louis placed 5th in the NL Central. On the road, they have a below .500 record of 28-35.

Miles Mikolas has taken the mound 27 times this season, posting a 6-9 record and 4.55 ERA. His WHIP is 1.30 and opponents have a .312 OBP against him. The right-hander has also surrendered a home run in each of his last three outings, while his strikeout to walk ratio stands at 107/31.

Miles Mikolas’ last start for the Cardinals ended in a 13-2 loss to the Mets. In 4 2/3 innings, he yielded seven runs on seven hits.

Having gone deep 4 times in their last five games, the Cardinals are 8th in that span. At 4.6 runs per game, St. Louis is 13th in the league. This figure has come on a team batting average of .257 while hitting a total of 174 home runs (7th).

The Cardinals’ offensive leader Paul Goldschmidt is batting .278 this season, with a .453 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .367.

WILL THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

The Phillies enter today’s game with an overall record of 69-58, including putting together an above .500 mark at home (36-25). This year, Philadelphia has played in 41 series and have gone 22-16-3. Currently, they are 2nd in the NL East.

Philadelphia pitcher Cristopher Sánchez has had a mixed season thus far, with an overall record of 1-3 and an ERA of 3.36. When pitching away from home, his ERA stands at an impressive 1.12, though it rises to 4.59 when he takes the mound in Philadelphia. Sánchez’s WHIP for the season is 1.03 and opposing batters have managed to hit just .220 against him, with a slugging percentage of .404.

Despite not earning the win, Cristopher Sánchez put forth a quality start in his most recent outing. The Phillies’ right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings of work, but his team ultimately pulled away for a 12-3 victory over the Nationals.

Over their last five games, the Phillies are ranked 11th in the league in scoring at 4.6 runs per game. Their season-long scoring average of 4.7 per contest puts them 11th in baseball. In terms of on-base percentage, Philadelphia is 8th, with an OBP currently sitting at .326. The team’s collective batting average is .258 (6th).

Over the last five games, Bryce Harper has been a force for the Phillies, leading the team in hits and batting .392. This season, Harper is hitting .299 and has knocked in 47 runs.