Phillies vs Diamondbacks Preview: Pitching Matchup and Props for Sept. 2

The Philadelphia Phillies will attempt to push their winning streak to seven games on Wednesday, Sept. 2 when they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final game of their West Coast road swing. The Phillies (79-60) held Arizona (73-67) to just two runs across the first two games of the series, and rookie right-hander Andrew Painter will try to continue that trend.

First pitch is set for 3:40 p.m. and, with the temperature expected to hit triple digits midway through the afternoon, there’s a decent chance the Snakes will close the roof of Chase Field. If it stays open, a seven to 14 mile per hour breeze out of the west-southwest could provide a slight aid to fly balls on their way out of the yard: Chase Field is oriented on a north-south axis, so it isn’t an exact tailwind.

DraftKings has Philadelphia as a slight favorite (-118); the Diamondbacks are a -162 favorite to cover the 1.5 run line, while the over/under sits at 9 runs.

Pitching Matchup

Painter (5.95 ERA, 98.1 innings pitched, 1.44 WHIP and 7.78 K/9) faced the Diamondbacks earlier this season and limited them to a .154 batting average (2-for-13) with a double, a walk and five strikeouts: Ildemaro Vargas recorded the lone extra base hit. The Phillies’ young righty is pitching much better than he did the first time around, with an ER of 3.26 since getting recalled from Triple-A in late July.

The Diamondbacks will go with opener Taylor Clarke: it’s rookie José Cabrera’s (5.32 ERA, 22 innings pitched, 1.41 WHIP and 6.55 K/9) spot in the rotation, so expect him to eat up the bulk of Arizona’s innings in relief. Cabrera has struggled across five starts this season and recently returned from a six-week stint in Triple-A. He allowed two runs in 4.1 innings his last time out and generally pitches better against lefties than righties, an important distinction against the Phillies’ lefty-heavy lineup, but any prospective bettors should exercise caution because of the surrounding unknowns.

Brandon Marsh (1-for-2 with a homer), Bryson Stott (1-for-1 with a homer) and Trea Turner (5-for-10 with a triple and a homer) all see the ball well out of Clarke’s hand, but there’s no guarantee they’ll all see him bat if he only gets to pitch for an inning or two.