Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres NLCS Game 1 Betting Preview/Prop Picks
18 October 2022
Time: 8:03 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia 16.905; San Diego 17.342
Dunkel Line & Total: San Diego by ½; 5
Vegas Line & Total: San Diego (-125); 7
Dunkel Pick: San Diego (-125); Under
The first game of the NLCS is set to kick off tonight in San Diego. The Philadelphia Phillies, fresh off a 3-1 series win over the Atlanta Braves, will face the Padres.
This game is likely going to be jam-packed with excitement, with each team starting one of their best pitchers. The question is, do the Phillies have enough to keep up with the Padres tonight?
It's been an impressive year for the San Diego Padres after a series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although they lost the first game to the Dodgers, they won three games in a row to win the series.
This team is resilient, and they're hoping to carry the momentum from last week into this game. However, the Phillies might not be as easily beaten, so they'll have to do their best.
Philadelphia Phillies: Phillies will send out Zack Wheeler
The Philadelphia Phillies' main concern tonight should be with pitching. The good news is they have a seasoned veteran on the mound to lead the game off.
Zack Wheeler is getting the start tonight, and Wheeler has an impressive 12-7 record. His 2.82 ERA is also something that will help this team pull off a win. He'll need a bit of help from his batters tonight as well.
With a team batting average of .253, the Phillies rank eighth overall in Major League Baseball. As they head into tonight's game, they're hoping to get on base and score runs quickly.
If they can get a sizable lead on the Padres, they could win this one. With a slugging percentage of .422, the Phillies rank sixth overall. They currently have an on-base percentage of .317.
San Diego Padres: Yu Darvish will take the mound tonight
As the Phillies send out Zack Wheeler, the Padres will send out Yu Darvish. This game is going to quickly turn into a battle of the pitchers. Darvish has had an incredible year, posting a 16-8 record with a 3.10 ERA.
Over the course of 194.2 innings pitched during the regular season, he's thrown 197 strikeouts. He'll be a great match-up for the Phillies' batting lineup.
Speaking of batting lineups, the Padres have a pretty strong group too. This MLB season, they have a batting average of .241, ranking 16th overall. Although they don't have a better average than the Phillies, they have a better on-base percentage.
Still, their batting average didn't seem to hurt them much in their last series. They beat the Los Angeles Dodgers rather easily.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres Betting Pick
We think this is going to be a pretty close game, especially with who's on the mound. The Phillies had a strong season and were able to beat the Braves fairly easily. However, they're playing in San Diego tonight against Yu Darvish.
The Padres have a record of 44-37 at home this season, while the Phillies are 40-41 on the road. It's going to be a tough task, but we'll take the Padres to win Game 1 and the total to go under.
DunkelIndex Free Pick: San Diego Padres -125, UNDER
Prop Picks
Philadelphia (-145) UNDER 3.5 Runs
San Diego has allowed 4.02 runs per 9 innings on defense this season, which ranks No. 10 in MLB. That average decreases to 3.67 runs per 9 innings at home. Scores have gone UNDER in 11 of the Padres’ last 15 games versus the Phillies.
With Dunkel predicting a San Diego win by the score of 3-2, take the Phillies (-145) to finish UNDER their team total of 3.5 runs against the Padres.
Zack Wheeler (-165) UNDER 4.5 Hits Allowed
Wheeler gave up 4 hits in 7 innings pitched in his one start against San Diego this season. As a team, San Diego averaged 8.12 hits per 9 innings on offense this season, which ranked No. 15 in MLB. That average decreased to 7.47 hits per 9 innings at home.
With Dunkel predicting the final score staying UNDER the Vegas run total, take Wheeler (-165) to finish UNDER 4.5 hits allowed against the Padres.
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