Phillies vs Diamondbacks Odds, Picks, and Probable Pitchers (August 18)
- The Philadelphia Phillies are -130 road favorites over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a National League game on Wednesday, August 18
- Arizona has surprisingly won three straight over Philadelphia; the Diamondbacks are 4-1 straight up in their last five home games against the Phils
- See the odds, probable pitchers and a preview of the game by scrolling below
The desert can be an unforgiving place. That’s certainly been the case of late when the Philadelphia Phillies (61-58, 25-33 away) have visited the Arizona Diamondbacks (39-81, 25-36 home). The Phils are 1-4 in their last five games at Arizona. Overall, the Diamondbacks have taken six of eight from the Phillies.
Philadelphia will look to end a three-game losing streak at Arizona when these two teams meet on Wednesday in the middle contest of a three-game series. A 2-5 skid in their last seven games has seen the Phillies fall out of first place in the National League East and drop 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves.
Nonetheless, oddsmakers are installing Philadelphia as -130 away favorites over the Diamondbacks. The Phillies are a disappointing 8-13 as an away favorite this season.
Dodgers vs Phillies Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | -130 | -1.5 (+125) | O 8.5 (-110) |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | +110 | +1.5 (-145) | U 8.5 (-110) |
Odds as of August 18th at DraftKings
Wednesday’s first pitch at Chase Field is set for 9:40pm ET.
Suarez vs Castellanos
| 5-3 | Record | 0-1 |
| 1.07 | ERA | 2.30 |
| 2.62 | xERA | 4.39 |
| 0.87 | WHIP | 1.21 |
| 2.55 | SO/W Ratio | 1.71 |
Diamondbacks left-hander Humberto Castellanos is making his second start of the season and third of his MLB career. He worked four scoreless innings on July 7th against the Colorado Rockies.
Castellanos allowed four hits over four innings. He struck out two but also walked a batter and hit another with a pitch. The four innings of work were his longest stint of the season.
In seven relief appearances, Castellanos earned one hold. He suffered his only loss after blowing the save on June 16 at the San Francisco Giants. Both of his big-league setbacks came after blowing saves in relief.
With Arizona sports betting coming in September, DBacks fans will be hoping he gets more starts as the season winds down.
🚨 ROSTER MOVE 🚨
Prior to last night's game, the @Dbacks recalled RHP Humberto Castellanos to the major league roster.
In 1️⃣0️⃣ starts for us, he is averaging over a strike out per inning and we were 8️⃣-2️⃣ in those games. pic.twitter.com/iYl2q8iqud
— Reno Aces (@Aces) August 13, 2021
This will be the first time facing the Phillies for the rookie from Mexico. He’s 0-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three home appearances this season, including that one start.
Lefty Suarez joined the Philadelphia rotation on August 2. He’s started three games, never going more than 4.2 innings in any of those starts. He’s allowed one earned run over his last seven apperances, covering 13.1 innings.
Suarez is among the top 1% in baseball in wOBA (.210). He’s in top 2% in exit velocity (84.8), the top 3% in xSLG (.265), the top 4% in barrel percentage (3.3) and hard hit percentage (29.5), the top 6% in xERA (2.61), xwOBA (.250) and xwOBACON (.278) and the top 7% in xBA (.185).
Turns out Ranger Suarez is actually good at literally everything.
Bullpen? Sure. Rotation? You got it. Put him in the batter’s box? No prob.
— Alex Carr (@AlexCarrMLB) August 12, 2021
He’s making his first appearance against the Diamondbacks since back-to-back relief stints at Arizona on August 6-7, 2019. Suarez blew the save in an 8-4 loss in the first of those two games. He allowed two earned runs, two hits and two walks over one third of an inning in that appearance.
His career stats against the Diamondbacks are 0-1 with an 11.81 ERA in three appearances, all in relief.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Phillies Batters | Batting Average vs Castellanos | Diamondbacks Batters | Batting Average vs Suarez |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alec Bohm | .000 | Nick Ahmed | .000 |
| Didi Gregorius | .000 | Asdrubal Cabrera | .000 |
| Bryce Harper | .000 | Drew Ellis | .000 |
| Odubel Herrera | .000 | Jake Hager | .000 |
| Travis Jankowski | .000 | Bryan Holaday | 1.000 |
| Andrew Knapp | .000 | Carson Kelly | .000 |
| Andrew McCutchen | .000 | AJ Pollock | .000 |
| Brad Miller | .000 | Ketel Marte | 1.000 |
| JT Realmuto | .000 | David Peralta | .000 |
| Jean Segura | .000 | Josh Rojas | .000 |
| Ronald Torreyes | .000 | Pavin Smith | .000 |
| Luke Williams | .000 | Josh Van Meter | .ooo |
| — | — | Daulton Varsho | .000 |
| — | — | Christian Walker | .333 |
Suarez has yet to retire Diamondbacks centerfielder Ketel Marte. Marte is 3-for-3 against the Phillies lefty with an RBI. Arizona first baseman Christian Walker is batting .333 (1-for-3) when facing Suarez. Catcher Bryan Holaday is 1-for-1.
Ketel Marte – Arizona Diamondbacks (5) pic.twitter.com/ajCnJ37OJ6
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 14, 2021
No Phillies batter has ever faced Castellanos in an MLB game.
Phillies vs Diamondbacks Pick
Since moving into first place in the NL East on August 6 the Phillies are 5-5. Suarez, though, has the best ERA of any MLB pitcher who’s worked at least 40 innings this season (1.07).
Suarez has only surrendered three earned runs through his last 13 trips to the mound. He shows a 1.34 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over that span.
The Phillies are 19-11 when Suarez pitches this season and 3-0 when he’s their starter. They’ve come away winners in each of his last six appearances and over 12 of the past 13.
Tuesday’s setback to Arizona concluded a five-game road winning streak for Philly. Arizona has won four of its past five games but are 3-12 through the last 15 Wednesday games.
- Pick: Philadelphia Phillies (-130).
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
