MLB Friday July 29th Phillies at Pirates Betting Preview

Philadelphia almost blew a big lead in Friday’s battle for Pennsylvania, giving up 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th before finally leaving with an 8-7 victory. That was the Phillies third win in the last four games coming off a series victory over the Braves so this would look like a team with momentum, yet they are only -120 favorites in game two.

Pittsburgh almost completed the comeback, but they fell short as +176 underdogs and their losing streak has reached four games. The home squad is down to just a +102 underdog in the July 29th Phillies at Pirates betting matchup, are oddsmakers confident in the Bucs here? The Phillies are listed at -120 after being -193 favorites on Thursday.

Phillies Making a Move

Philadelphia needs every win they can get right now, trying to keep up with the 61-37 Mets and the Braves who are 37-14 over the past two months. The Phillies have done a solid job in staying within 9.5 games of New York, and they’ve bounced back nicely to go 3-1 since getting swept by the Cubs in the first series back from the All-Star break.

Kyle Schwarber had a 3-run HR, his 32nd of the year, in Thursday night’s win and four of the first five batters in the Philadelphia lineup had multiple hits. The Phillies offense has come alive with 15 runs the last two games, and this is coming off a stretch in which they were held to three runs or fewer in 11 of the previous 14 games.

Philly’s offense may need to be on par again in the July 29th Phillies at Pirates matchup with Bailey Falter (0-3, 5.18 ERA) on the mound. The left-hander served up 3 HRs to the Cubs in his last start, and has a 6.23 ERA through three starts in July. That being said Philadelphia has also won 6 of his last 8 starts this season.

Pirates Need Runs Sooner

Pittsburgh was able to plate five runs against Jeurys Familia on Thursday night, but fell just short in the 8-7 loss. Pittsburgh starter Zach Thompson had a rough outing in giving up 7 ER in his second consecutive outing, and the Bucs were down 8-0 heading into the bottom of the 7th so they were essentially done.

Have the Pirates built some momentum from their late comeback in game one? Cal Mitchell and Kevin Newman combined for 5 of Pittsburgh’s 7 hits in the opener so a little more balance from the rest of the order wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Jose Quintana (2-4, 3.59 ERA) gets the ball for Pittsburgh on Friday trying to build off a nice start to the 2nd half when he pitched 7 shutout innings against the Marlins. Quintana has a 3.02 ERA at home compared to 5.22 on the road so he at least gives the Pirates a chance on Friday night.

July 29th Phillies at Pirates Betting Pick

53% of the betting public is backing the Pirates on Friday night, a number that seems high considering the Phillies have opened up their offense with wins in three of the last four. It wouldn’t be a horrible play on Pittsburgh here due to the line, but it’s important not to overthink things and go with the better team.

Free Pick: Phillies -120