The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers close out a three-game National League series Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
Philadelphia has now won a season-best eight straight road series by capturing the first two games of this three-game set against Los Angeles. The Phillies have now won 15 of their last 22 games against the Dodgers, outscoring them by a 100-74 margin. The club will end its 10-game road trip this afternoon and currently leads the Atlanta Braves by 8.5 games in the NL East standings. Philadelphia is 28-12 in day games and 40-18 when facing an opponent with a losing record.
Phillies starting pitcher Vance Worley is 8-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 15 appearances (13 starts) this season and has led the club to nine consecutive wins. Offensive run support hasn’t been an issue in the last five games, as the lineup has provided 38 runs over that span. The rookie right-hander has tallied a solid 4-1 record and 2.52 ERA in eight road contests (six starts), surrendering just three home runs in 39 1/3 frames. Worley has struggled in his three daytime outings in comparison to night, posting an even 1-1 mark and 5.29 ERA compared to a perfect 7-0 record and 1.60 ERA in 12 appearances under the lights.
Los Angeles has lost three straight games and managed to score just seven runs offensively over that span. The Dodgers are now 11 games back in the divisional race after Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss at Dodger Stadium. Despite its recent lack of success against the Phillies, the club does have a 19-20 record in the series since the start of the 2006 season. Offensively, the team is simply not getting the job done with runners in scoring position, getting four hits in 19 opportunities. Los Angeles is 16-18 in day games this year.
Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley is 10-9 with a 4.17 ERA in 23 starts this season and has fallen into quite the pattern. The right-hander has alternated wins and losses in each of his last seven outings and comes in off a 7-4 road win over the Diamondbacks last time out. The Ohio native gave up three runs and seven hits over six frames in that contest. Billingsley has posted a solid numbers at Dodger Stadium, entering with a 5-4 record and 2.88 ERA, surrendering just three home runs in 72 frames. In five lifetime starts versus the Phillies, he is 1-2 with a 3.19 ERA, issuing 18 walks and registering 26 strikeouts in 31 innings.
At the time of this writing, Philadelphia is a -126 road favorite and the total stands at 7 Over (-115).