Cubs Will Take Down Phillies On Sunday Night Baseball

Phillies vs. Cubs, 7:00 ET

Phillies vs. Cubs, 7:00 ET

We've reached Sunday Night Baseball. Every year, it seems like baseball at least tries to have some relevant teams on the schedule for their one prominent prime time game of the week. Baseball is typically one of the sports that you don't tend to watch unless it has your favorite player or team involved, so it makes sense that they won't schedule a Marlins vs. Rockies game here. Instead of garbage like that, we get the Phillies taking on the Cubs

I've been very complimentary of the Phillies when I've written about them for a few years now. I'm not a huge fan of anyone on the team other than Kyle Schwarber who will always have a spot in my heart - I mean any dude that can miss an entire season, then come back for the World Series and actually produce is an absolute monster. However, the team really needs to figure some things out. We are now about 15-20% into the season, and the Phillies are just average. The team isn't really missing anyone, they just aren't playing very well. They are hitting .251 with a .340 OBP and a .378 slugging which is a little low. Their pitching hasn't been terrible, nor has it been great. One guy that would help make the turnaround for the club is today's starter, Aaron Nola. Nola has struggled quite a bit this season. Nola is 0-5 with a 6.43 ERA and 1.61 WHIP. He has allowed four or more earned runs in three of his five starts and has surrendered six homers this season. As you can tell by his record, the Phillies have lost every start he has made. Philadelphia hasn't supplied him with a ton of runs in any game either. Cubs hitters are batting .247 against him in a large sample size. 

The Cubs are not a team that I'm overly complimentary to despite them being my team. I have grown frustrated at the fact that the Cubs are run more as an amusement than as a competitive team. The owner is a billionaire, the team is a cash cow, and everything is stupid expensive. Somehow, though, they cry poor and seem like they can only go so far when trying to get top-level talent. They did get Kyle Tucker via trade in the offseason, and he has been outstanding. If they don't sign him to a long-term deal, though it will just be more of the same. I can just see the quotes now "We made a competitive offer that we thought was fair and he went a different direction." For now, though, I'd like to enjoy that they are 17-11, have a great run differential, and are fun to watch again. Pete Crow-Armstrong looks like he could be a superstar in the making, Tucker leads the team in everything, their defense is very good, and few spots in the lineup are considered holes. Jameson Taillon takes the bump for the Cubs tonight and he brings a 1-1 record with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Taillon only has made two starts at home, but his ERA is better at home than on the road. It is also significantly higher at night than during the day, so take that as you may. Phillies hitters are hitting him rather well with a .290 average over 93 at-bats. The good news is that 20 of the 27 hits are singles. 

I do think at some point Nola gets his stuff figured out. I'm not sure that this is the game for him to do it though. It isn't often that I can say the Cubs offense looks good, but I do think they have looked very good recently. Philadelphia has also struggled on the road. It will be a cold night, so I don't really want to back the over, but I do lean toward it. Instead, my play for this one is to take the Cubs to win. I think they should get to Nola and the Philly pen. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024