MLB Pick: Padres, Phillies go ‘under’

Roy Halladay of the Phillies has gone four straight starts without a win, but he really had only one bad game in that stretch and has dominated the Padres in the past. Edinson Volquez has pitched like San Diego’s ace so go ‘under’ Saturday.

It should be a low scoring game in the City of Brotherly Love on Saturday night when Edinson Volquez and the San Diego Padres (11-22 overall, 2-8 away) take on Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies (15-18 overall, 6-8 home) in the middle game of a three-game series from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA at 7:05 ET.

The posted total at Bookmaker Sportsbook is 6½ for this contest with the current odds on the ‘under’ set at -110.

The Phillies are surprisingly in last place in the National League East as they have struggled offensively with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley out of the lineup all year and their bullpen has been a mess. The starting pitching has been fine though and they now look to build on a 7-3 win in the series opener here last night.

That was a much needed win for Philadelphia after it had lost four of its previous five games including getting swept in the three-game series here at home by the New York Mets. The Phils now turn to their ace Halladay, who is winless in his last four starts and has not gone winless in five straight starts since 2007 while with the Toronto Blue Jays.

However, it is not as if Halladay has pitched badly, as most pitchers would kill to possess the 3.28 ERA and 1.07 WHIP that he has for the year. Those numbers are simply not up to his own usual high standards, although three of the four starts during his four-game winless streak were still Quality Starts.

Furthermore, he probably had a lot on his mind in his only bad start where he allowed eight runs and 12 hits in 5.1 innings vs. the Atlanta Braves, as he left the team the following day for family reasons. He returned in time for his last start, where he pitched well in a no-decision while limiting the Mets to two runs and five hits in seven innings with a season-high seven strikeouts.

Halladay’s winless streak began with a loss to these Padres in San Diego, but even there he allowed only two runs on five hits in seven innings, and he has yet to allow more than two earned runs in any of his four career starts vs. San Diego. He is also facing a weak Padres’ lineup that ranks last in the National League in batting at .221 and has now scored three runs or less in six straight games.

That putrid offense is a key reason why the Padres are in last place in the National League West Division and already 10½ games behind the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. They do have their best pitcher so far this year on the mound tonight though in Volquez.

He finally won his first game of the season last time out vs. the Colorado Rockies, but Volquez obviously deserves a better fate than his 1-2 record as he has a 2.98 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with 38 strikeouts in 42.1 innings, and he has allowed three runs or less in six of his seven starts including allowing two runs or less in five of them. He has been a victim of the San Diego offense, as the Pads have provided him with only 2.13 runs per game of support.

As you might expect, that has made Volquez a prime ‘under’ pitcher this season as it is 5-2 in all of his starts and he also has a spiffy 1.96 ERA and 1.04 WHIP while going 2-1 in three starts vs. the Phillies while holding the Philadelphia lineup to a .185 batting average.

Thus, even with this total set at 6½, go ‘under’ in Philadelphia on Saturday night.