The Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres meet in game two of their three-game series in MLB action from Petco Park on Tuesday night.

Phillies Draw First Blood

The Philadelphia Phillies managed to hold on for the series-opening win in game one of the set thanks to a 9-7 win over San Diego on Monday. The win propelled Philadelphia to 76-61 on the year, holding on to the top Wild Card spot in the National League while still sitting 14.5 games back in the NL East race. Nick Castellanos leads the Phillies with 148 hits along with 22 home runs and 85 RBIs while Bryson Stott is right behind with 148 hits. Kyle Schwarber has a team-high 40 home runs with a team-high 89 RBIs of his own and Alec Bohm has 86 RBIs. Schwarber has the unfortunate distinction of leading the Phillies with 175 strikeouts this season. Bryce Harper also has a .295 batting average and a .389 OBP this season. Michael Lorenzen will start for the Phillies here and is 8-8 with a 3.73 ERA and 103 strikeouts this season.

Philadelphia Phillies Team Facts

– The underdogs have won seven of the Phillies’ last eight games at Petco Park.

– The underdogs have covered the run line in nine of the Phillies’ last 10 games at Petco Park.

– The Phillies have trailed after 3 innings in 10 of their last 14 games as favorites against NL West opponents.

– The Phillies have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five games as favorites.

– The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Phillies’ last six games against NL West opponents.

Philadelphia Phillies Player Prop Facts

– Kyle Schwarber has hit a home run in each of the Phillies’ last four games against the Padres.

– Trea Turner has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Phillies’ last nine games.

– Michael Lorenzen has recorded five or more strikeouts in three of his last four appearances in night games.

– Kyle Schwarber has scored at least one run in each of the Phillies’ last 10 games against NL opponents.

– Kyle Schwarber has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Phillies’ last nine games against NL West opponents.

– Trea Turner has recorded at least one hit in each of the Phillies’ last 15 games.

– Kyle Schwarber ranks 4th in the league in Home Runs (40) this season.

Padres Falter Again

The San Diego Padres continue to disappoint and Monday’s loss was just another brick in the wall as the Padres dropped to 65-74 on the year, sitting 20.5 games back in the NL West and 6.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race. Juan Soto leads the Padres with 28 home runs and 84 RBIs with a .400 OBP as well while Xander Bogaerts has a team-high 135 hits. Fernando Tatis Jr. leads San Diego with 29 doubles and Manny Machado also has 26 home runs and 79 RBIs as well this season. Pedro Avila will start for the Padres here and is 0-2 with a 2.67 ERA and 37 strikeouts this season.

San Diego Padres Team Facts

– The underdogs have won seven of the last eight games between the Phillies and Padres at Petco Park.

– The underdogs have covered the run line in nine of the last 10 games between the Phillies and Padres at Petco Park.

– The Padres have led after 7 innings in three of their last four games as home underdogs against National League opponents.

– The Padres have led after 3 innings in each of their last three night games against the Phillies.

– The Padres have led after 5 innings in three of their last four games as home underdogs against National League opponents.

San Diego Padres Player Prop Facts

– Juan Soto has hit a home run in three of the Padres’ last four games against opponents that held a winning record.

– Juan Soto has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Padres’ last five games as underdogs against NL East opponents.

– Xander Bogaerts has recorded two or more total bases in seven of his last eight appearances against the Phillies after playing the previous day.

– Juan Soto has scored at least one run in each of the Padres’ last four night games against NL opponents that held a winning record.

– Xander Bogaerts has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 12 appearances against the Phillies.

– Juan Soto ranks 6th amongst qualified players for On Base Percentage (.400) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

– The San Diego Padres ranks T1st in the league for walks this season (558).

– The San Diego Padres ranks 4th in the league for ERA this season (3.82).

– The Philadelphia Phillies are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and batting average this season.

– The Philadelphia Phillies are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and home runs this season.

Chris’ Pick

I’m sticking with the Phillies here. Is Michael Lorenzen my favorite option in this Phillies rotation? No, but he’s got the more consistent offense behind him that appears capable of winning baseball games. Which sucks for Pedro Avila, who has been pretty good in his limited action so far, but I’m just so past trying with the Padres, as they continue to be one of the most disappointing teams in baseball. I’ll take the Phillies here.