Saturday, March 11, 2017

Florida Auto Exchange Stadium

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Probable Pitchers: Vince Velasquez vs. Marco Estrada

The Philadelphia Phillies head Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on Saturday, March 11, 2017 to take on the Toronto Blue Jays in a Spring Training game. The probable pitchers are Vince Velasquez for the Phillies and Marco Estrada for the Blue Jays.

The opening line for this matchup has Philadelphia at +115 and Toronto at -135. The Phillies had a 78-76-8 over/under record and a 83-79-0 run line mark last year, meaning they covered 51% of the time. The Blue Jays were 79-83-0 against the run line and had a 63-93-6 over/under record. They covered the spread 49% of the time.

The Phillies had a 71-91 record in 2016, including 34-47 away from home. Starting pitcher Vince Velasquez had a 8-6 record with an ERA of 4.12 and a WHIP of 1.33. He had 152 strikeouts over his 131 innings pitched and he gave up 129 hits last season. He allowed 8.9 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.96. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 5.05 and they gave up 556 base hits on the year. Teams hit .266 against the bullpen while being struck out 513 times and walking 218 times last season. As a team, Philadelphia allowed 9.19 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.14 batters per nine innings. They were 26th in the league in team earned run average at 4.63. The Phillies pitchers collectively gave up 1,468 base hits and 739 earned runs. They allowed 213 home runs last season and they allowed 1.3 homers per nine innings as a staff. Philadelphia as a pitching staff walked 466 batters and struck out 1,299. They walked 2.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.1 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.35 and their FIP as a unit was 4.35.

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As a team Philadelphia batted .240, good for 29th in the league while putting together a .250 average away from home. The Phillies held a .385 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .301 which was good for 29th in baseball. They ranked 28th in baseball with 8.06 hits per game. Cesar Hernandez is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .294 with an on-base percentage of .371. He had 161 hits last season along with 67 runs scored and 39 runs batted in. He struck out 116 times and walked 66 times. Odubel Herrera hit .286 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .361. He totaled 167 hits while scoring 87 runs and he drove in 49. He walked 63 times and struck out on 134 occasions. The Phillies had 1,306 hits, including 231 doubles and 161 home runs. They stole 96 bases and were thrown out stealing 45 times. Philadelphia walked 424 times last season and they struck out 1,376 times as a unit. They left 1,043 men on base and had a team OPS of .685. They scored 3.77 runs per contest and scored a total of 610 runs last year.

Toronto had a 46-35 home record and a 89-73 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 3.48, Marco Estrada had a 9-9 record and a 1.12 WHIP last season. He had 165 strikeouts over the 176 innings he pitched during which he gave up 132 hits. He allowed 6.8 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.15. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 4.11 and they gave up 452 base hits on the year. Teams hit .249 against the Blue Jays bullpen while being struck out 472 times and walking 136 times last season. As a team, Toronto allowed 8.26 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.1 batters per nine innings. They were 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.78. The Blue Jays pitchers as a team surrendered 1,340 base knocks and 613 earned runs last season. They gave up 183 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Toronto as a staff walked 461 hitters and struck out 1,314. They gave up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.1 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.23 while their FIP as a staff was 4.05.

As a team, they batted .248, good for 23rd in the league while putting together a .260 average at home. The Blue Jays held a .426 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .330 which was good for 6th in baseball. They ranked 24th in baseball with 8.38 hits per contest. Josh Donaldson comes into this matchup after batting .284 with an OBP of .404. He had 164 hits last year along with 122 runs scored and 99 RBI. He struck out 119 times and walked on 109 occasions. Justin Smoak hit .217 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .314. He collected 65 hits while scoring 33 runs and driving in 34. He earned a walk 40 times and punched out 112 times. The Blue Jays as a unit had 1,358 base hits, including 276 doubles and 221 homers. They had 54 stolen bases and were thrown out 24 times. Toronto as a team walked 632 times last year and they struck out 1,362 times. They had 1,120 men left on base and had an OPS of .755. They scored 4.69 runs per game and totaled 759 runs last season.

Philadelphia Phillies Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Phillies were 78-76-8 against the over/under last season

The Philadelphia Phillies were 83-79-0 against the run line last season

Toronto Blue Jays Betting Trends

The Toronto Blue Jays were 63-93-6 against the over/under last season

The Toronto Blue Jays were 79-83-0 against the run line last season

Injuries to Watch

Philadelphia Phillies

No key injuries to report

Toronto Blue Jays

No key injuries to report

Josh's Pick: Take the Blue Jays -135

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