It’s Monday, August 26, and the Houston Astros (70-60) and Philadelphia Phillies (76-54) open a series featuring 1st place clubs at Citizens Bank Park in the City of Brotherly Love.
Yesterday, the Astros doubled up the Orioles by the score of 6-3 at Camden Yards. Yusei Kikuchi won his 3rd game as a member of the Astros and Alex Bregman went yard for the 21st time this season.
The Phillies’ offense was strong again in Kansas City in an 11-3 win over the Royals. Kyle Schwarber picked up a couple of hits and drove in 3 as Philadelphia plated 11 including 6 against fringe Cy Young candidate Seth Lugo.
Houston continues to lead the AL West by 4½ games as Seattle also won their game Sunday. Philadelphia’s lead is back up to 6 as the Braves fell to the Nationals yesterday afternoon.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first-pitch, projected pitching matchup, lineup cards, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Astros vs. Phillies live today
● Date: Monday, August 26, 2024
● Time: 6:40PM EST
● Site: Citizens Bank Park
● City: Philadelphia, PA
● TV/Streaming: SCHN, NBCSP, FS1
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Game odds for Astros vs. Phillies
The latest odds as of Monday morning:
● Money Line: Astros +140, Phillies -165
● Spread: Astros +1.5 (-160), Phillies -1.5 (+135)
● Over/Under: 8 runs
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Recent team stats for Astros vs. Phillies
● The Astros are 5-5 in their last 10. Houston is 35-31 on the road this season. Their overall run differential for the season is +73.
● Philadelphia has won 2 in a row. The Phillies are 6-4 in their last 10. Philadelphia is 42-23 at Citizens Bank Park this season. Their overall run differential for the season is +114.
Probable starting pitchers for Astros vs. Phillies
● Today’s pitching matchup (August 26): Ronel Blanco vs. Zack Wheeler
○ Astros: Blanco (9-6, 3.14 ERA) has allowed 48 earned runs and 91 hits while striking out 136 over 137.2 innings
○ Phillies: Wheeler (12-6, 2.73 ERA) has allowed 47 earned runs and 109 hits while striking out 170 over 154.2 innings
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Astros vs. Phillies on August 26, 2024
● Zack Wheeler is 8-3 at home this season with a 2.40 ERA in 82.1 innings.
● Ronel Blanco was shelled in his last outing giving up 5 earned runs in just 3.2 innings. Blanco’s 137 innings are 4 times more than any previous season with Houston. Could he simply be tiring?
● Yordan Alvarez is 2-2 in his career against Wheeler
● Who’s Hot? Rookie Zach Dezenzo has hits in 3 straight games going 4-7 (.571) in that stretch. Bryce Harper has hits in 4 straight going 5-17 (.294)
● Who’s Not! Jose Altuve is 3 for his last 16 (.188)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for Monday’s Astros vs. Phillies game
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Astros vs. Phillies game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports is leaning heavily towards a play on the Astros on the Moneyline
- Spread: NBC Sports is recommending a play on the Astros on the Run Line
- Total runs: NBC Sports is recommending a play on the Total OVER 8 runs
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and total picks for each of the games on today’s calendar!
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- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
