Back Down to Earth – Philadelphia Phillies at Florida Marlins

BetOnline MLB betting odds: Marlins -135, Phillies +115, Total 9

Right-hander Brett Myers will get the start for the Phillies, while fellow righty Josh Johnson serves up the opposition for the Marlins. 

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

(Numbers may go back to last season)

* PHIL has lost five of its last seven games

* PHIL has played eight of its last 11 games OVER the total

* FLA has won seven of its last ten games

* FLA has lost its last three games

* FLA has won five of its last six home games

* FLA has played four of its last six home games OVER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

* Four of the last six meetings have gone OVER the total

* FLA has won 11 of the last 18 meetings as the home team

Brett Myers has fanned six batters in each of his first three starts, and while he has been adequate, he’s been far from a stopper. He brings a 5.03 ERA into this game, and even though that is not bloated, it may be enough to wake up the Florida bats.

Myers made two starts for the Phillies last September. In the first one, on September 10, he did a serviceable job, striking out nine and allowing four runs on eight hits and lasting until one out in the eighth inning. In second, just nine days later, he got roughed up, allowing Florida to score ten times within four innings. Obviously he’s going to try to get out of the box a little better tonight.

Will the Phillies let him? The defending champs have scored just one run in each of the last two games, dropping them both to the Milwaukee Brewers. To add injury to the insult on Thursday, Cole Hamels got hit with a line drive on the shoulder and had to leave the game, after he had struck out five of the first six hitters he had faced. He has a bad bruise, but may not have to miss his next start. It was a shame, because Hamels, who had come into the game with an ERA of 11.17, was looking pretty good.

The Phillies hitters were not, however, as David Bush of Milwaukee, who grew up around Philadelphia, took a no-hitter into the eighth inning until Matt Stairs hit a pinch-hit home run for the Phils.

Josh Johnson’s great beginning was perhaps a little too good to be true. The big right-hander shut out the Nationals over 6-2/3 innings in his first outing, then went the distance in beating the Mets 2-1. In his last effort, April 18 at Washington, it was pretty much all sixes, as in six innings, six hits, six strikeouts, six earned runs.

Florida is having some problems hitting the ball too. The Marlins were swept in a three-game series at Pittsburgh, scoring just six runs against what is suddenly a hot Pirate pitching staff.

Philadelphia is 4-8 against right-handed starters this year, which is one reason it has been slow getting started. Johnson is, on any given day, one of the better right-handers in the National League, so we’re going to look for the Marlins, the -135 favorite in the BetOnline National League baseball betting odds, to bounce back.

JAY’S PLAY: FLORIDA (-135) **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)