Quote Originally Posted by CalBear2009:
@MrBator Could you pls give your thoughts on the Diamondbacks and Phillies series? Which side you would take and confidence level.
Three days ago I fired on the D-Backs +170 to win the series over the Phillies. In a postseason that has seen spirited underdogs repeatedly getting the best of sizable favorites, why stop betting on them now? I have a lot of respect for the Phillies and even more for their obvious home field advantage, but they've just gone from the spirited underdogs who throttled the mighty Atlanta Braves to the sizable favorites that most are now expecting will return to the World Series for the second year in a row. The Phillies seem determined to get this done, but it is just hard and perhaps unwise to ask any favorite to win a game, let alone a series, in these 2023 playoffs. In the meantime, the 84-win D-Backs (who are now the 89-win D-Backs) remain comfortably in their underdog role, with few believers outside of their fan base who think they're going any further than this NLCS.
Both teams are coming in after impressive wins in their respective division series, but the Phillies' win over the Braves is getting more respect. This is understandable, as the Phillies have now taken down the 101-win Braves and the 104-win Braves in the last two postseasons while winning the games at Citizens Bank Park by scores of 9-1, 8-3, 10-2, and 3-1. The D-Backs swept the Dodgers, and they did it rather decisively winning every game by more than one run, but praise for the feisty D-Backs has been drowned out by the scorn aimed at the dazed Dodgers, a powerhouse regular season team that has become a postseason punchline, an annual October joke.
The D-Backs along with the scary Texas Rangers are undefeated so far. This improbable run for Arizona was triggered in their first game in Milwaukee. They kinda had no one else ready to start Game 1 so they turned to rookie Brandon Pfaadt, whose numbers made him look like the unlikeliest of Game 1 starting pitchers. And he got off to a shaky start, allowing the first three Brewers to reach base as the D-Backs instantly fell behind 1-0. In the bottom of the 2nd inning he coughed up a 2-run shot, and no one was surprised to see the D-Backs sinking fast. But in the top of the 3rd, Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte hit back-to-back home runs and the game was suddenly tied. Rookie catcher Gabriel Moreno led off the top of the 4th with a home run and suddenly the Brewers were losing as their hushed fans looked on in puzzlement. And that was it, the D-Backs never looked back and the Brewers never scored again, getting blanked over the final 7 innings by six courageous members of the D-Backs bullpen.
In Game 2, tonight's starter Zac Gallen got off to a shaky start when he gave up 2 runs in the 1st inning, but that would be it for the Brewers for the season. The D-Backs broke through in the top of the 6th against Freddy Peralta and two Brewers relievers, scoring 4 times to take a 5-2 lead. Four D-Backs relievers then shut the door. This team flew to Los Angeles clearly toughened up and feeling like they could do anything, and it showed when they quickly crippled the Dodgers emotionally in the 1st inning of Game 1, scoring five times before the last strains of the national anthem had floated away beyond the outfield pavilion.
So, do you really think it's a good idea to lay -185 or so against this fearless bunch? I don't, so I eagerly bet the D-Backs +170 on Friday while evil sportsbooks DraftKings and William Stinking Hill were still gladly accepting bets on the Phillies -170. By the way, for anyone interested in getting down on the Phillies to win the series, DraftKings still has the lowest price anywhere with -175. That's not a good sign for Philly sports fans is all I can say.
Hot Forum Topics
