00:00Let's get over to Philadelphia here.
00:01My Philadelphia Phillies, who have, again,
00:03they put me through the ringer so much.
00:05There's talent there.
00:06There's good starting pitching.
00:07And sometimes, Craig, nothing happens.
00:09They went 20-plus innings, which included back-to-back shutouts
00:12against the Giants.
00:13Not their pitching staff.
00:14They're batters here.
00:15Then on Friday, Craig, they get four runs in the first inning.
00:18All right, we're back.
00:19They didn't score the rest of the game and lost that game.
00:21And yesterday, Tywon Walker took the mound,
00:24gave up two runs right away, and the Bluebirds were out.
00:26But the offense did save them.
00:28But, again, only basically one inning.
00:30Today, it's Zach Gallin on the mound to take on Andrew Painter,
00:33mixed bag for Painter so far in the early season.
00:36The Phillies overnight, Craig, did open up as a favorite at minus 136.
00:39They're as high as minus 146, depending on where you're shopping,
00:42and a total of eight and a half.
00:44Early on in the season, the Jekyll and Hyde Philadelphia Phillies,
00:47they're a favorite today going up against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
00:50Yeah, kind of like Arizona today a little bit here in this one.
00:54Yeah, I do too.
00:54The thing for me with the Phillies, Donnie, as you mentioned,
00:57is Harper's coming around a little bit here, and that's okay.
01:00But, I mean, is Schwarber going to go back to being that 190 guy again?
01:06And, like, is Alec Boehm just not going to hit?
01:08Like, they have, right now, Philadelphia, I mean, to me,
01:12either the best lineup in the National League or one of them.
01:14But they have, like, four black holes right now going on right now.
01:18Like, four guys just, like, not hitting at all.
01:20And Arizona, to me, a little bit more consistent.
01:24So, probably for me, a game that's going to come down to the bullpens again.
01:28But, clearly, the pitching matchup, in my opinion, favors Arizona here today.
01:32So, I am on a little bit of a lean toward the Diamondbacks today.
01:36And I absolutely think a close game that comes down to the end.
01:39But I think the Diamondbacks potentially could take it.
01:41Absolutely makes a lot of sense, too.
01:43Like, the Phillies do have decent numbers early season, Craig,
01:45against right-handed pitching.
01:46But, again, it is, Jack, when I like Schwarber does have a couple home runs.
01:49A 417 ISO against right-handed pitching.
01:51Same thing with Bryce Harper, decent numbers, and Marsh.
01:53But understand this.
01:54Marsh, in, like, that cleanup role now, which was supposed to be Craig Alec Boehm,
01:58and he's slipping down, like, six to seven to batting eight in that order.
02:02That's something, certainly, to keep an eye on at this point.
02:04But if we do flip it over and say, well, how can Arizona combat and pick up a win here?
02:08Painter against right-handed batters, not very well.
02:11Lefty's very good, but still a rookie trying to work his way through.
02:13Craig, as you know as well as I do.
02:14Second, third, fourth time around the league here, they'll get a book on you.
02:18Many teams have not seen Andrew Painter yet, but understand this.
02:21That lineup for the Arizona Dimebacks hasn't been great, particularly, Craig,
02:24against right-handed pitching.
02:25Carroll's got good numbers.
02:26Perdomo's got good numbers.
02:27Vargas has good numbers.
02:28But the rest of that lineup, Craig, really struggling.
02:30Now, in Philadelphia, 65-degree temperatures, wind blowing out eight miles per hour to left field.
02:35So not great hitting conditions, but not bad ones either today.
02:38No, I don't think so.
02:40And also good, I believe Corbin Carroll is now getting back and healthy into the Diamondbacks lineup.
02:45But he missed some time this week.
02:46So obviously him being in the lineup is absolutely huge.
02:50And again, I think panic going on in a lot of cities and maybe even Philadelphia, too.
02:55But, you know, they're 7-7, a mixed bag.
02:58There's talk now.
02:59Wheeler could be coming back.
03:00I don't know about soon.
03:01But at some point, I still think the Phillies will be perfectly fine.
03:06Arizona's one of those very well-run teams and well-run organizations.
03:10They're in it every year, Donnie.
03:12It, like, doesn't matter who they have or who they don't.
03:14They're always going to be surfing around 500.
03:16So, again, not a huge, strong opinion on this one today.
03:19But I would lean toward the dog here in the Diamondbacks in Philadelphia.
03:22I love you.
Comments