Thursday has all the makings of a “Trap Game” for the Phillies. Consider:
>>> Day game after a rain-delayed night game in which your team managed to put up an 11 spot;
>>> Facing a reeling St. Louis Cardinals team you have already beaten four times in a row by a robust combined score of 31-8;
>>> And a jet warming on the tarmac at PHL waiting to take you out west for a showdown with the only National League team (Dodgers 37-19) that has a better record than you (33-22).
But then you have this:
The Phillies’ usual 3-4-5 hitters (Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Reamluto) are a combined 5-for-8 (with a Harper homer) against Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson. All of that damage was done when Hudson allowed eight runs in five innings to the Phillies back on May 7.
We really wanted to tap Realmuto for a home run since he has four homers in 45 day-game at-bats (4/143 in night games), but even with two days off earlier in the week (Sunday/Monday), he is not in the starting lineup.
Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff has allowed four, four and five runs in his last three starts, so the Cardinals very well may get theirs today also.
And since it is Game 1 of the NBA Finals, let’s throw some Kyle Lowry into the mix . . .
We shopped around and found the former Villanova guard at 30-1, 40-1 and 50-1 (FanDuel) to win the Finals MVP, so we are tossing a George Washington down on the 50-1. And since we found a +900 (DraftKings) on Lowry scoring the first field goal of Game 1, let’s parlay that with a Phils victory for a deuce.
Pick: Phillies Over 5.5 Runs (+120)
Pick: Phillies-Cardinals Over 10.5 (-104)
Pick: Kyle Lowry Finals MVP ($1/+5000)
Parklay: Phils win & Lowry First FG ($2/+1810)