Phillies vs. Cardinals Preview: Pitching Matchup and Props for Aug. 21

The Philadelphia Phillies will attempt to push their winning streak to seven games on Friday, Aug. 21, hosting the St. Louis Cardinals at 6:40 p.m.

These teams faced off little more than a week ago, with the Cardinals (66-63) taking two of three games and briefly dropping the Phillies (70-58) out of a National League Wild Card spot. Since then, the Fightins are on a heater, and they’ll look for lefty All-Star Jesús Luzardo to continue their winning ways against a team fighting for their playoff lives. While the Cardinals have an excellent 7-3 record over their past ten games, the rest of the playoff field is staying comfortably ahead amidst winning streaks of their own.

Expect mild temperatures tonight, with the thermostat reading 79 degrees at first pitch. Humidity climbing north from 60 percent will make for sticky conditions, and a 3-to-5 mile per hour breeze out of the east/northeast could knock down fly balls as they try to leave the yard.

As per usual, NBC Sports Philadelphia has the broadcasting rights for those in range of the City of Brotherly Love. DraftKings has the money line at -206 in the Phillies’ favor (+191 for the Cardinals); the over/under sits at 8, with the Phillies (+109) a slight underdog to cover the -1.5 run line.

Pitching Matchup

The Cardinals haven’t officially announced a starter for tonight’s game. ESPN has righty Hunter Dobbins (3.42 ERA, 50 innings pitched, 1.30 WHIP and 8.82 K/9), a 26-year-old who’s bounced between Triple-A and the show this season, penciled in to start. Of his ten appearances this season, three were bulk relief outings and seven were traditional starts: either way, he’s doing an excellent job of limiting hard contact despite a middle of the pack strikeout rate.

Luzardo (3.23 ERA, 150.1 innings pitched, 1.15 WHIP and 11.08 K/9) makes opposing batters look silly and ranks toward the top of the National League in both strikeouts and innings pitched.

Plenty of Unkowns

Despite that, the Cardinals have struck out just three times in 20 plate appearances against Luzardo, going 5-for-20 with a double.

Ivan Herrera (1-for-4) has the lone extra base hit, while Masyn Winn and Pedro Pages are both 1-for-3 in limited opportunities. The Phillies, similarly, haven’t seen much of Dobbins, going 4-for-18 with three walks, six strikeouts and no extra base hits. Kyle Schwarber has a single and two walks in three plate appearances, contributing the majority of the damage against Dobbins. 

With two strong pitchers and not much of a track record record, this might be a solid day to bet strikeout totals and the under; Kyle Schwarber is as good a pick as any for total bases props, although his 184 strikeouts in 454 at-bats this season mean he’s always a threat to swing-and-miss. Keep a close eye on the Cardinals’ projected starter just in case they decide to switch things up before first pitch despite this being Dobbins’ spot in the rotation.