The Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies play the rubber-game of their three game series tonight with first pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET. The Nationals need a good pitching performance from tonight’s starter left hand pitcher Matt Chico (0-0, 6.07 ERA) who will face the Phillies and veteran 43 year old lefty Jamie Moyer (3-3, 4.89 ERA).
Oddsmakers at sportsbook Bodoglife.com currently have the Phillies listed as 132-moneyline favorites versus the Nationals, while the game's total is sitting at 9½.
Moyer was solid in his last start. He went 6 2/3 innings, surrendering seven hits and three earned runs in a 10-3 victory over Toronto on Friday. It helped to get great run support, as the Phils vaulted out to an 8-0 lead after three innings. It was one of Moyer's best starts, rebounding from two previous poor starts.
With the Nationals wanting Shawn Hill to rest his ailing right elbow, Chico will face the Phillies. Chico began the season as a starter, but he was demoted to the bullpen after four consecutive bad outings. The major reason for the bad starts was because Chico was pressing on the mound. However, it has been a different story out of the bullpen. He has given up just one run in 6 1/3 innings.
Cole Hamels, Tom Gordon, and Brad Lidge combined on the shutout to lead the Phillies over the Nationals 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Philadelphia won as -160 road favorites as the teams played under the 8-run total set by oddsmakers.
Hamels struck out 11 over seven innings to get the win for the Phillies, as Greg Dobbs' pinch-hit RBI single in the top of the ninth inning lifted Philadelphia to the victory.
Reliever Jon Rauch was tagged with the loss for Washington, while Christian Guzman went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Nationals.
Point-Spreads.com MLB Picks: Phillies -132
