Philadelphia Phillies at Miami Marlins 4/14/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions
The Philadelphia Phillies will open a second-straight divisional series when they go on the road to loanDepot Park to take on the Miami Marlins. Philadelphia lost the back end of a three-game set to the Mets, dropping the series and to 3-3 in the young season. Miami stuttered to a start on their west-coast road trip losing two of three to the Giants, and two to the Angels, starting 1-4 on the year.
The Marlins' offense has been one of the worst in baseball through five games, scoring a combined 14 runs. As a team, they’ve hit .199 and have 48 combined strikeouts compared to just 33 hits and 14 walks. The young middle-infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. and right-fi\elder Jesus Sanchez have been the only flashes of excitement, they’ve combined to go 9/33 with 4 home runs and driving in over half of the runs with 8 RBIs.
Miami will hand the ball to ace Sandy Alcantara who struggled with control in his opening start but survived 5 innings allowing three runs on three hits. Alcantara issued five walks, but struck out four and received a no-decision in a 6-5 loss in the 10th inning. He’s been a consistent member of the Marlins rotation since 2018, posting a 3.49 career ERA in 79 starts.
The Phillies made waves this offseason with the addition of Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber in the offseason. Pairing those two with Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, and Rhys Hoskins immediately makes the lineup immediately in the conversation for the best in baseball. Veteran Jean Seaguar has led the way thus far going 6/18 with two solo home runs. Philadelphia is hitting .237 as a team and the depth of this lineup will undoubtedly give opponents issues all season.
Kyle Gibson will get the start for the Phillies coming off the best start he could ask for in his season opener. Gibson threw 7 scoreless innings allowing two hits and striking out 10 without issuing a walk. Gibson has started 231 career games and posted a career 4.43 ERA, but if he can post more outings like that it could be the difference between missing the playoffs and being a legit championship contender.
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The oddsmakers appear to think that Gibson will not be able to build off his start, and the Phillies are listed as just a slight favorite. With a stacked lineup, facing off against an offense that will be among the bottom of the leaderboard in most offensive categories, the Phillies are the play here. The Phillies lineup is too deep and if Alcantara makes one mistake, anybody can make him pay for it. The Marlins' offense stays stagnant, and the Phillies go on the road to get the win. Final score prediction, Phillies win 5-3.