Florida Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies Preview & Pick

Florida Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies 7:05 ET – NL East rivals collide in the City of Brotherly Love, and BetUS Sportsbook has all of the sports betting action covered! In this baseball betting affair, the Florida Marlins (21-25, -$493) will lock horns with the defending champions, the Philadelphia Phillies (24-19, +$219). Yesterday, the Marlins broke a five-game skid to the Phils by posting a 5-3 victory. RHP Chris Volstad (4-3) threw 6.2 strong innings, giving up three runs, while a much-maligned Florida bullpen pitched 2.1 perfect innings to close it out.

Tonight, the champs are -155 favorites, while the ‘total’ has been lined at 10 over -110.

The Fish will send LHP Andrew Miller to the bump on Tuesday night. Miller, acquired in the trade that sent RHP Dontrelle Willis and 1B Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers, is 1-1 with a 4.94 ERA in both starting and relief roles. His L/2 starts have both been solid, as he allowed four runs in 12.0 combined innings, striking out 13 along the way. Many think that the former first round draft pick of the Tigers could be a cog in Florida’s rotation for years to come, but he’ll need to improve his stuff on the road and improve it quickly. For his career, the lefty is 5-10 with a 6.16 ERA away from home with a very high 5.82 BB/9. He is 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies. Over their L/9 games, the Marlins have allowed a whopping 7.78 run per game.

Manager Charlie Manuel will hand the ball off to RHP Joe Blanton to counter Florida’s southpaw. The righty has been incredibly inconsistent this season, as he has had outings where he has looked absolutely spectacular (6.0 innings, one ER against St. Louis on May 4th) and others where he has been absolutely miserable (5.0 innings, five ERs against Cincinnati on May 21st). The only reason the Phils are 5-3 in his eight starts is because they’ve averaged giving him 7.25 runs of support per game. Most pitchers at the MLB level will be successful at that clip, but Blanton only has a 2-3 record to show for it. He’s allowed at least four earned runs in his L/3 starts, and has a 5.40 career ERA against Florida. The Phils are averaging 6.18 runs per game in their L/11 games overall.

Neither pitcher really has to strike any fear in their opponents tonight, nor should either bullpen. Of the pitchers available in this game, Florida’s pen has a 4.26 ERA for the season, while Philadelphia’s pen has a 4.17 ERA. Plus, if the game comes down to a save situation, neither Florida’s Matt Lindstrom (6.16 ERA) nor Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge (9.15 ERA) have had even remotely decent seasons. It all adds up to plenty of runs on the board tonight. ‘Over’ bettors are 7-3 in the L/10 meetings between these teams. Expect to see those numbers improve tonight.

Rose’s Recommendation: 4* Over 10 -110

Analysis provided by Mike Rose of BetUS.

(Rating Scale: 1* – 5*)