Sunday Night Baseball Will See Runs

Phillies vs. Nationals, 7:10 ET

I was able to split the day yesterday with a 1-1 result. The first game was a loss with the Twins, but the second one was a win in the game between the Brewers and Rangers. Milwaukee was able to hold the Rangers to one run in the game and pretty much coast to victory. I also suggested that a sprinkle on the moneyline of the Brewers was worthwhile, so depending on how you played everything profit was available. Today, I shift to Sunday Night Baseball and we watch the Phillies and Nationals.

The rest of the MLB has a problem right now: Trea Turner is back. The guy really struggled his first few months in Philadelphia but then some fan got a great idea: instead of booing him, let's give him a standing ovation. Turner took the original boos in stride and admitted that they should be booing him. Since August 4th, Turner has been one of the best players in baseball and hit two home runs in one inning yesterday. If he keeps this up, obviously not the two dongs in one inning, but this hot hitting, the Phillies have to be considered a real threat to return to the World Series. Tonight, they get their ace on the mound in Zack Wheeler. Wheeler is on a very nice stretch himself right now with seven consecutive quality starts. Five of the starts have been on the road as well and he is even completing seven innings in a lot of them. Wheeler has faced the Nationals three times already this season and twice since July 1st. He's actually kind of struggled against them. He has allowed at least three runs in all of the starts and allowed seven earned runs in 3.2 innings against them when he started in Washington.

CLEVELAND, OHIO - JULY 23: Trea Turner #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies on deck during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 23, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)

The Nationals are playing for... well... not next year, but that's the expression. They are seeing what they have on their roster as they hope for yet another rebuild to turn the tides. A team that has had Bryce Harper, Stephen Strausburg, and Juan Soto in the last 7 years seems like they shouldn't be this bad, but here we are. I do actually give them a little credit. They seem to be playing harder than most of the teams that are opening tanking. They are sending out Trevor Williams to the hill in hopes of combatting Wheeler's attack. Williams has a 5.20 ERA on the season and has been slightly better at home this year. He also has three starts against tonight's opponent and has allowed 13 earned runs over 15.1 innings. In those 15 innings, he has allowed seven home runs as well. He's only had one home start against Philadelphia and he allowed four earned over 5.2 innings, so it really wasn't terrible. If he controls the long ball, he should be able to turn in a decent enough game. The problem is he has exactly five games this season where he hasn't allowed a home run.

This game is an over for me at 8.5. I wouldn't be shocked if the Phillies scored 8 runs by themselves. The thing is both teams are familiar with each other, and while Wheeler has pitched well, it isn't like he has been able to just shut down the Nationals when he sees them. Plus having seen him twice in the last two months, they have even more familiarity and should be able to get some progress on his pitches. I'll take over 8.5 for the game.

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