The Philadelphia Phillies open up a weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight at PNC Park in the Battle of Pennsylvania. 

The Phillies will enter tonight at 55-47 on the season and in second place in the National League East standings. They remain 10 games behind the first place Atlanta Braves, who have lost seven out of their last 10 games. 

While putting a little pressure on the Braves in the NL East over the final two months of the regular season would be fun, if we’re being realistic, the Hunt for Red October is happening in the Wild Card.

PointsBet: 5 Second Chance Bets Up To $100 Each

• Sign up for a new PointsBet account
• Make a first-time deposit
• Place five (5) cash wagers up to $100
• Receive any losing wagers back in Bonus Bets

Claim your second chance bets here >>

The Phillies currently own one of the tickets to postseason in a chaotic NL Wild Race, with the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds. Right outside looking in, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins are in the hunt, just a half game out holding an extra L in the loss column. 

Phillies NL Wild Card Standings

Zack Wheeler vs Mitch Keller

Zack Wheeler will take the mound for the Phillies against Mitch Keller for the the Pirates. Wheeler has posted a 6-5 record with a 3.88 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 20 starts this season. 

He’s coming off one of his best starts of the year, tossing seven innings of one-run baseball against the Cleveland Guardians last week in a game that the Phillies ended up losing 1-0. 

For the Pirates, Mitch Keller will take the bump, looking to close out  July on a high-note after a miserable four starts this month has left him with an 0-3 record and a 7.04 ERA.

Keller’s last start was a dud, throwing just five innings and allowing six earned runs against the Los Angeles Angels in a game the Pirates lost 7-5. 

Huge Opportunity for the Phillies

After a hot start to the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates fell back down to earth and are now just 45-57 on the season, at the bottom of the NL Central standings. They are 4-6 over their last 10 games and hold a 23-26 record at home this year. 

BetMGM Sportsbook: $1,000 Paid Back Bonus

• Sign up for a new BetMGM account
• Make your first deposit of $10 or more
• Place a real-money wager on any sport
• Get up to $1000 back in bonus bets

Claim your free $1000 paid back bonus >>

Needless to say, the Pittsburgh Pirates are not a very good baseball team and with the Phillies finally snapping out of a funk by taking 2-of-3 from the Baltimore Orioles earlier this week, now is the time to go on a run as we roll into the month of August. 

Phillies Next Four Series 

• Pittsburgh Pirates (45-57)
• Miami Marlins (55-48)
• Kansas City Royals (29-75)
• Washington Nationals (43-59)

Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates – 7:05PM – PNC Park – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

NEW USERS: Bet $5, Get $100 in Bonus Bets. Claim Offer Here >>

Phillies vs Pirates: Pitching Matchups

• Game 1: Zack Wheeler vs Mitch Keller
• Game 2: Aaron Nola vs Quinn Priester
• Game 3: Cristopher Sanchez vs TBD

Like I said above, the time to go on a run is now. The Phillies have 4 series starting tonight against the Pirates, Marlins, Royals, and Nationals.

That’s a total of 14 GAMES against subpar opponents.

Serious baseball teams will jump on the opportunity to have this type of stretch and the Phillies, hopefully with by a few key additions at the MLB Trade Deadline on Tuesday, August 1st, will make the most of it. 

Let’s go 11-3 over the next 14 games and enter a home series at Citizens Bank Park against the Minnesota Twins with a 66-50 record on Friday, August 11th. 

Join The Chase