NLCS Game 2: Phillies vs Padres Betting Odds

The Padres’ offense was close to anemic on Tuesday as Wheeler held San Diego to a Wil Myers single and a pair of walks.

After an absolute gem from Zack Wheeler (and the back-end of their bullpen) led them to a 2-0 win in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies will try to take a commanding two-game advantage on Wednesday afternoon. The Phillies only mustered three hits against Yu Darvish and the Padres but two of those were solo home runs from Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, which was enough to support Wheeler and Co. The Phillies vs Padres betting odds are fairly even for Game 2 with Aaron Nola going up against Blake Snell.

The Padres’ offense was close to anemic on Tuesday as Wheeler held San Diego to a Wil Myers single and a pair of walks. He was dominant before giving way to Seranthony Domínguez and José Alvarado, who held down the fort. Philadelphia is in a really good position now heading into Game 2. Now, the Phillies can be no worse than tied in this series on Thursday’s off day, subsequent to which there will be no more rest days during this series.

So, Philadelphia has the flexibility of not running its key relievers into the ground while San Diego — out of desperation — might have to. That’s another reason to not love the San Diego Padres betting game going forward.

Aaron Nola Has Been Unhittable

If there were a postseason-long award for top starting pitcher, the Phillies’ Aaron Nola would be in firm contention for it. He has been dominant in each of his two playoff starts, tossing a combined 12 2/3 innings and allowed just one unearned run. Nola’s performances have led Philadelphia to easy wins in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series (against the Cardinals) and Game 3 of the NL Division Series (against the Braves) and the Phillies hope he’ll be able to do the same for them against the Padres.

The Phillies’ MLB World Series odds hinge heavily on the right arms of Nola and Wheeler so if Philadelphia can continue to get great starting pitching from those guys, the Padres are in serious trouble. Plus, with only Domínguez and Alvarado needing to throw an inning a piece on Tuesday, the Phillies’ bullpen is pretty well-rested. The pressure will all be on the Padres to try and slow down Nola and put together a better offensive showing than they did in Game 1.

Soto, Bell Must Step Up

San Diego hasn’t exactly been ripping the cover off the ball in the postseason. They did rough up the Mets’ starters a bunch in the NL Wild Card Series but were mostly (outside of a few rallies) held in check by the Dodgers’ pitching stuff during the NLDS. That will have to change if the Padres are going to buck the Phillies vs Padres series odds and even up the NLCS at a game piece. They had way too many non-competitive at-bats against Wheeler and the Phillies, particularly from middle-of-the-lineup guys they are relying on to produce.

Two key guys were members of the Washington Nationals earlier this season: Juan Soto and Josh Bell. Neither has done much during the playoffs and with them sandwiching the consistently awesome Manny Machado in the batting order, San Diego needs them to get going in order for Machado to see better pitches and to put some pressure on the Phillies’ pitching staff. The Padres’ lineup isn’t especially deep so the power threats — in Soto, Bell and Machado — have to step up, like Harper and Schwarber did for Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Can Philly’s Defense Hold Up?

A crucial fielding misplay by Alec Bohm in the 9th inning of Game 1 gave the Padres two at-bats with the tying run at the plate. Fortunately for the Phillies, Machado and Bell were both retired by José Alvarado but it could have turned into a disaster had either of them come through. Even though the Phillies escaped, that situation served as a reminder of how bad Philadelphia’s defense was for much of the regular season and how that could play a huge role in a vital postseason moment.

Every out is so important in the playoffs that any errors — or even just plays that should be made but aren’t — can completely swing games. It hasn’t been much of an issue for the Phillies so far in the playoffs but the spectre of their poor defense looms over all of their games. San Diego has to find a way to take advantage of that.

Which Blake Snell Will Show Up?

Blake Snell might be this series’ biggest x-factor and how well he pitches tonight will have a massive effect on the Phillies vs Padres series odds. He was terrible against the Mets in the Wild Card round, allowing 10 baserunners in 3 1/3 innings but he shut down the mighty Dodgers in the NLCS, tossing 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. The problem is that it’s hard to tell which Snell will show up on a nightly basis: the one who nibbles and can’t get easy outs or the one whose stuff forces the opposition to chase often.

The Phillies’ lineup is a tough (and deep) one so Snell will have his work cut out for him. He’ll have to challenge batters, though, because giving Philadelphia extra baserunners is a recipe for failure with all of their power bats.

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