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Carrie Stroup here with some May 23, 2012 baseball betting and the line on the Nationals vs. Phillies. You can find all the latest Baseball betting odds here at Sportsbook.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Philadelphia -155 & 6.5 flat
Sitting in first in the NL East, the Washington Nationals will look to complete a sweep of the last place Phillies on Wednesday night.
Two hot pitchers take the mound in this game with Cole Hamels for the Phillies and Edwin Jackson for the Nationals. Hamels is 6-1 on the season with a 2.48 ERA, numbers that have been aided by his past three starts in which he is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. Jackson has just two decisions at 1-1 in eight starts this season, but has also been pitching well lately with a 2.70 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in his last three starts, despite not recording a decision in any of those three outings. A concerning element for Jackson could be they are heading to a bandbox in Philadelphia and his issue is giving up home runs, something he has done four times in his past three starts. The one time he pitched at Philadelphia in his career he allowed five earned runs in five innings on eight hits. Meanwhile, Hamels is 11-4 against the Nationals in his career with a 2.62 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, facing a Washington squad hitting just .212 against southpaw starters this year.
A win for the Phillies would snap a four-game losing skid, after the team had moved above .500 for a brief period and Hamels is just the man for the job. In his one start versus Washington this season he made it eight innings, allowing just five hits, one walk and striking out eight. His ability to go deep into games is key with Philadelphia’s bullpen ranking among the worst in the NL with a 4.74 ERA. Take him to win.
Although Jackson has faced the Phillies just once in the regular season, he beat them in last year’s NLDS Game 4 with St. Louis, holding Philly to two runs and five hits in six innings of work, striking out four and walking one. Jackson will have his hands full in this game, facing a Phillies squad that is averaging 4.5 runs per game against right-handed starters and hitting .270 against them. Another major problem for him has been run support, with his offense scoring four or fewer runs in six of his eight starts so far. Although the Nationals are 4-1 against Philadelphia this season, that one win the Phillies secured was on the back of Hamels, Jackson’s mound opponent. Play against the Nats here.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
