By Matt McEwan in MLB Baseball
Published:
The Houston Astros, coming off a 1-0 victory in the series opener, look to continue to build on their momentum as they host the Philadelphia Phillies for the second game of this interleague series at Daikin Park on Wednesday, June 25, with first pitch scheduled for 8:10pm ET.
The Astros are sending Colton Gordon (2-1, 4.54 ERA) to the mound, aiming to secure a series win against a fellow division-leader. The Phillies, who already delivered a great pitching performance in the first game, will counter with their ace, Zack Wheeler (7-2, 2.61 ERA), as they try to even the series. Both teams continue to navigate significant injuries, as none of Bryce Harper, Yordan Alvarez, or Chas McCormick will play tonight – not to mention the laundry list of pitchers Houston is without. See all the odds for tonight’s Phillies vs Astros matchup and my picks for the game below.
I like the under (7.5) in this game for two main reasons: (1) the injuries to big-time bats on each side, and (2) the pitchers taking the mound for each side. The Astros are in the bottom-half of the league in runs scored per game, and outside of Christian Walker, don’t have anyone in the lineup who has enjoyed much success against Zack Wheeler.
While I do suspect the Phillies lefty-mashing lineup to get to Colton Gordon, I don’t believe Houston will leave their 26-year-old in there too long, especially if he’s getting knocked around. Gordon has only gone more than five innings in two of seven starts this season. The sooner the Astros turn the game over to their bullpen, the better for this bet. Houston’s relievers are sporting a 3.26 ERA, which is second-best in the MLB.
On top of that, Daikin Park isn’t the most hitter-friendly field in the Majors. It’s pretty average in terms of producing runs and home runs. The over has hit in only 3 of the Astros’ last 10 home games, and in only 16 of their 41 games at home this season (39%). For the Phillies, the over has hit in just 3 of their last 10 road games.
If you’re looking for a same-game parlay to play for the game tonight, here’s what I’m betting at bet365, using their 30% MLB SGP boost:
SGP Picks
This SGP comes out to +140 odds prior to the 30% boost.
Wheeler has struckout at least six batters in 14 of 15 starts this season, which includes 9 Ks against the Blue Jays (second-fewest SO/gm) and 7 and 8 Ks in his two starts against the Nationals (fourth-fewest). Though the Astros don’t strikeout much, they do strikeout more than both of those teams. Without Alvarez in the lineup, I think Wheeler will record at least six more Ks tonight.
I like the Phillies moneyline in this SGP, as I think their lineup will take advantage of the LHP they’re going to face tonight. I like Wheeler to go deep into this one and turn things over to his bullpen with a comnfortable lead.
Playing off that prediction of the Phillies winning this game, Trea Turner has been great against LHP this season, averaging .306 in 98 ABs. I expect him to get at least two ABs against the lefty Gordon tonight.
At the time of writing this, the Phillies were -161 favorites on the moneyline and were only +110 to cover the -1.5 run line as well. The moneyline odds imply the Phillies have a 59.2% chance to beat the Astros tonight. The game’s total was set at 7.5 when publishing this. The odds in the widget above will continue to update ahead of first pitch, ensuring you get the best price on each bet no matter when you read this.
You can check out all of today’s betting lines on our MLB odds page.
Houston Astros
Philadelphia Phillies
The Houston Astros are navigating a minefield of injuries, particularly to their pitching staff with multiple starters on the 60-day IL. However, those starting pitchers being on the IL doesn’t affect tonight’s game, as we knew they weren’t starting anyways. I trimmed down the injury lists above to only include players who could have helped tonight – though, I appreciate Colton Gordon may not be starting tonight’s game if not for all Houston’s injuries.
Philadelphia Phillies Batters vs Colton Gordon
No Phillies hitters have faced Colton Gordon in their careers. So, there’s nothing to report. However, here’s a quick look at the Phillies projected lineup versus LHP this season:
Even without Bryce Harper in the lineup, the Phillies offense still poses a major threat. The team is eighth in runs scored per game and they have enjoyed a lot of success against LHP. When facing lefties, the Phillies are sixth in BA, fifth in OBP, seventh in SLG, and fourth in HRs.
Gordon has been good against left-handed batters, only allowing a .233 BA and .258 OBP. However, he will only face three lefty bats tonight. The Astros starter has not fared very well against right-handed bats, allowing a .314 BA and .341 OBP. Gordon will have to be especially careful against the likes of Turner, Castellanos, and Sosa tonight.
Houston Astros Batters vs Zack Wheeler
Zack Wheeler has only faced five of the batters in the Astros lineup tonight, with Christian Walker having by far the most experience against the Phillies’ ace, thanks to his many years playing for the D-Backs in the NL. Walker has enjoyed a fair bit of success when facing Wheeler, batting .417 with four doubles and one home run.
While Jose Altuve is batting .333 against Wheeler, his six ABs present a small sample size.
I have broken up the batter and pitcher props into separate tables to make things easier.
Phillies vs Astros props as of June 25, 2025, 3:23 PM ET from Caesars Sportsbook. You can see more player markets for tonight’s game on our MLB player props tool.
Props Analysis:
Wheeler is an elite strikeout artist, averaging 11.42 SO/9 this season. However, his line is only listed at 6.5 because the Astros are not a team who strikes out often, only averaging 7.77 SO/Gm (eighth-fewest). I think this is a very achievable line for him to go over.
After going through the Phillies’ stats against LHP above, it should be no surprise to see Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, and Alec Bohm all with total hits lines of 1.5. Every other player in the game sees a line of 0.5.
At the time of writing this article, here’s what the betting splits looked like:
Be sure to check our MLB public betting splits for the latest breakdown.
The sports and sports betting data in this article was gathered with the assistance of AI that is connected to Sportradar’s database.
Editor-in-Chief; Sports Betting Expert
With nearly a decade working in the industry, Matt is a seasoned sports betting veteran. He got his start with SBD in 2016 and worked his way up the ladder to become the Editor-in-Chief. Along the way he has done everything from reviewing sportsbooks to creating proprietary sports betting tools.
Updated: 1 hour ago
