The Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers face off on Wednesday in Game 2 of their series in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Ballpark.

The Philadelphia Phillies continue to battle their way back into playoff contention as they appear to be making their move up the standings a lot sooner than last year’s late run that landed them in the World Series. The Phils have won their last 3 games and 7 of their last 10 coming into this matchup.. Bryce Harper is healthy once again the Phillies have excelled with him the lineup. Harper is batting .306 but has just 4 HR and 26 RBI’s in just 61 games. Trea Turner hasn’t hit his stride batting just .251 but Nick Castellanos has come through batting .290 with 13 HR’s. Chris Sanchez gets the start in this one and he hits the mound with a 0-3 record and a 3.26 ERA striking out 27 batters in 30 innings. The Phillies appear to be on a roll right now and that is without some of their top players hitting at their peak numbers.

The Milwaukee Brewers are back in first place in the NL Central after sweeping the Reds in Cincinnati over the weekend in their first series after the All Star Break. The Brewers come into this one winning 6 of their last 7 games. Christian Yellich leads the Brewers in hitting batting .283 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI’s. William Contreras is hitting ,268 but Wille Adames is hitting just .209 but has 16 HR’s. Carlos Rea is the starting pitcher for the Brewers and so far he is 5-4 with a 4.71 ERA but he has already allowed 13 HR’s this season. The Brewers might need a bat to get them across the finish line and to get them into the post season.

Philadelphia Phillies Betting Trends

• The Phillies have won each of their last 14 night games against NL Central opponents following a home win.
• The Phillies have failed to cover the run line each of their last seven games against National League opponents that held a winning record.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Phillies’ last four games as home favourites.
• The Phillies have led after 7 innings in each of their last six games against NL Central opponents.
• The Phillies have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last five games as favourites against National League opponents.

Milwaukee Brewers Betting Trends

• The Brewers have won each of their last five games as road underdogs after playing the previous day.
• The Brewers have covered the run line in each of their last eight games as underdogs.
• The Brewers have led after 7 innings in five of their last seven games as underdogs against NL East opponents.

Phillies Player Prop Trends

• Kyle Schwarber has hit a home run in each of the Phillies’ last four games against NL opponents.
• Alec Bohm has recorded at least one hit in each of the Phillies’ last 10 games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
• Kyle Schwarber has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Phillies’ last four games against NL opponents.
• Kyle Schwarber has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Phillies’ last seven home games against NL opponents.
• Kyle Schwarber ranks T5th in the league in Home Runs (26) this season.

Brewers Player Prop Trends

• Christian Yelich has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last four road appearances after playing the previous day.
• Christian Yelich has recorded two or more total bases in nine of his last 10 appearances after playing the previous day.
• Christian Yelich has hit a home run in each of his last three road appearances after playing the previous day.
• Owen Miller has recorded at least one hit in five of his last six road appearances after playing the previous day.
• Christian Yelich ranks T9th in the league in Steals (21) this season.

Season Highlights 

• The Philadelphia Phillies ranks T2nd in the league for triples this season (19).
• The Philadelphia Phillies are one of only 4 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and batting average this season.
• The Milwaukee Brewers ranks 29th in the league for hits this season (721).
• The Milwaukee Brewers ranks 27th in the league for doubles this season (131).

Phillies vs Brewers Free Pick

This is going to be a tough one as I don’t trust either of these starting pitchers. The Phillies bats are better from top to bottom but they are from a lock here as the Brewers have won 7 of their last 8 games on the road. I can see both teams putting runs on the board but I can just see the Phillies scoring more so they are going to be my choice. For games that are after the first game, even easier, just look at last game’s numbers and results. The Philadelphia Phillies got off to a hot start to the series knocking off the Brewers 9-6 on Tuesday. Bryce Harper was the star of Tuesday’s game going 4 for 5 and hitting two Home Run’s. Nick Castellanos scored three of the Phillies run and Kyle Schwarber added a late homer as well. While the Phils put the 9 runs on the board, in the end it was their defense that saved the day turning the double play with the bases loaded with one out in the top of the 9th to preserve the win. Chris Sanchez gets the start today and he hits the mound with a 0-3 record and a 3.26 ERA striking out 27 batters in 30 innings. The Phillies appear to be on a roll right now and that is without some of their top players hitting at their peak numbers.