The Blue Jays (54-62) surprised many with their deadline acquisition of Jose Soriano. The former Angels pitcher will be making his Toronto debut this evening in a marquee pitching matchup. Opposing him will be Zack Wheeler and the Phillies (62-54). Can Philadelphia and its superstar hurler keep pace in the loaded National League?<\/p>\n
The Phillies are favorites (-206)<\/a> on the moneyline; the over\/under is set at 7.5 runs<\/a>. Below, I\u2019ve laid out my preview, prediction, and best bet for Friday\u2019s showdown between Toronto and Philadelphia on DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Blue Jays vs. Phillies pick, best bet today<\/p>\n Blue Jays vs. Phillies under 7.5 runs (-103)<\/a>: Toronto\u2019s offense is a mess, setting Wheeler up for another successful outing. As for Soriano, his knack for limiting home runs could keep Philadelphia\u2019s homer-happy lineup in check.<\/p>\n Blue Jays vs. Phillies prediction, preview<\/p>\n As previously mentioned, it\u2019ll be Soriano on the bump for the Blue Jays this evening. It\u2019s been a breakout campaign for the righty, who has pitched in the relative anonymity of Orange County. Over 123.0 innings with the Angels (22 starts), he\u2019s notched a 3.29 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 127 strikeouts (9.3 K\/9). The Dominican has been consistent as well, allowing three earned runs or fewer in ten of his last 12 appearances. A move to Toronto, with one of baseball\u2019s better defensive teams backing him up, should only help. The Jays are 11th in the majors with 20 defensive runs saved.<\/p>\n Soriano excels at limiting the long ball; the fourth-year pro has a minuscule 0.7 career HR\/9 ratio. That puts him in a great spot against one of the most power-laden lineups in baseball. Philadelphia has slugged 145 home runs this season, eighth-most in baseball. However, that\u2019s the only thing this group does exceptionally well. As a unit, the Phillies are 15th in runs scored (512), 21st in batting average (.239) and 20th in OPS (.709). To be fair, the acquisition of Luis Arraez is already paying major dividends on offense. Regardless, this lineup is the definition of all-or-nothing right now. <\/p>\n As for the Phillies, it\u2019ll be standout arm Wheeler toeing the slab this evening. It\u2019s been another dominant campaign from the veteran, in the mix for his first career Cy Young award. Over 105.0 innings of work (18 starts), he\u2019s notched a 2.49 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 126 strikeouts (10.8 K\/9). If he wasn\u2019t recovering from an injury in April, those numbers would look even more impressive. The right-hander ranks within the 90th percentile among qualified starters in xERA (2.59), chase rate (36.6%) and strikeout rate (31.3%).<\/p>\n Taking care of business shouldn\u2019t be too difficult tonight for Wheeler. Toronto comes into Friday\u2019s matchup as the lowest-scoring offense in all of baseball. That\u2019s without factoring in a trade that sent outfielder Dalton Varsho to Houston this week. The Blue Jays are averaging an MLB-worst 3.89 runs per game. They rank 30th in on-base percentage (.302), 28th in home runs (110) and 30th in OPS (.678). Middling arms have made this lineup look silly; who knows what they\u2019ll do against a three-time All-Star.<\/p>\n