July 18th MLB Betting Slate
Phillies vs Pirates
The MLB Philadelphia Phillies take on the MLB Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh. The Phillies are underperforming this season with the new talent that they brought in during the off-season. The Pirates continue to struggle season after season. In the last ten games, the Phillies are 5-5 and the Pirates are 2-10.
The Phillies currently sit at 3rd in the MLB NL East behind the Braves and Mets with a record of 51 wins and 47 losses. The Pirates are currently sitting second to last in the MLB NL Central with a record of 40 wins and 58 losses.
The Phillies are pitching Zach Wheeler who had 8 MLB wins and 5 losses in his first 13 starts. Wheeler is the Phillies’ best pitcher with an ERA of 2.78, 114 total strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.04. Wheeler will look to get his ninth winning pitching against a weak offense of the Pirates.
The Pirates are pitching Zach Thompson who has 3 wins and 7 losses in his first 11 starts of the season. Thompson has an ERA of 4.64, a low of 51 strikeouts, and a WHIP of .144. As you can see the Phillies have the upper hand with their defense in this game as well as their offense.
The line is set at -210 in favor of the Phillies Moneyline. Pirates Moneyline is set at +160 Moneyline. My pick for this game is Phillies -1.5 at -110 odds. I do believe that the Phillies cruise past the Pirates and even beat them by 3 more runs as they just defeated the Braves 7-2.
Giants vs Cubs
The San Francisco Giants are taking on the Chicago Cubs in San Francisco at Oracle Park. The Giants are having a disappointing season this year after winning over 100 games last year, the team is having chemistry issues and is failing to play the way they did last year. They also lost one of their stars Kris Bryant. The Cubs are in the middle of a rebuilding phase and will not be good for a few years.
The Giants currently sit at 3rd in the NL West with 48 wins and 50 losses. The Giants have 3 wins and 7 losses in their last ten games. They are 17.5 games behind first and 11.5 games behind second, the Giant’s playoff hopes are looking doubtful.
The MLB Cubs currently sit at 40 wins and 57 losses. The Cubs have 4 wins and 6 losses in their last ten games. They are 14 games back from first place and 3.5 games back from second place.
The Giants are pitching Justin Steele who has 4 wins and 6 losses in his first ten starts with an ERA of 4.02, 81 MLB total strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.42. The Cubs are pitching Alex Wood who has 6 wins and 8 losses in his first 14 start with an ERA of 4.21, 96 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.26.
The line opened up at Giants -135 Moneyline and Cubs +115 Moneyline. My pick for this game is Giants -135. My reasoning for this pick is that both teams are pitching subpar pitchers, however, the Giants need to turn around their season right now if they hope to have the slimmest chance at the playoffs. I believe that the Giants come out and win this game after losing their last 5 games, despite facing Chicago who has won 5 in a row.
