Angels vs. Phillies Friday MLB odds: Bryce Harper expected back in Philadelphia lineup, but Manager Joe Girardi fired

The disappointing Philadelphia Phillies got bad news earlier this week when second baseman Jean Segura was lost for perhaps three months after fracturing his finger Tuesday. While the Phillies can survive without Segura, they can't without two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper. He has missed some time this season, including Wednesday, due to a small UCL tear in his right elbow and the discomfort it causes, but he's expected back in the lineup as the designated hitter Friday when the Phillies host the Los Angeles Angels. And now for some breaking news: The Phillies announced that they have fired manager Joe Girardi. 

Harper is currently a +1100 fourth favorite at Caesars to repeat as NL MVP, behind only Mookie Betts (+275), Manny Machado (+300) and Paul Goldschmidt (+550) – none of whom have won NL MVP previously (Betts won the AL award). Harper is batting .303 with 10 home runs, 32 RBIs, a .943 OPS and a 166 OPS+.

In 23 games in May, Harper slashed .347/.394/.684 with a 1.078 OPS over 104 plate appearances. He had 33 hits (18 for extra bases), 11 doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBIs, eight walks and went 3-for-3 in stolen bases. The 18 extra-base hits were tied for the second-most he's ever had in a single month in his career, trailing only the 22 he had last August. It marked the most extra-base hits in May by a Phillies player since Ryan Howard had 19 in 2009. Since 2021, the Phillies are 70-34 in games when Harper scores at least one run (15-9 in those games this year).

As for Girardi, he said earlier this week he wasn't worried about his job security but perhaps he should have been with the team now at 22-29 -- interesting, though, that he was fired following Wednesday's victory that snapped a five-game skid. And why not do it during Thursday's off day? Bench coach Rob Thomson will be the interim manager. Thomson has been with the Phillies since the 2018 season. He previously spent 10 years with Girardi on the Yankees staff from 2008 to 2017.

"It has been a frustrating season for us up until this point, as we feel that our club has not played up to its capabilities," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in a statement. "While all of us share the responsibility for the shortcomings, I felt that a change was needed and that a new voice in the clubhouse would give us the best chance to turn things around."    

About a month ago, SportsLine oddsmakers listed Girardi as the +300 second-favorite to be the first fired behind Cincinnati's David Bell (+200). The Reds have been playing much better baseball of late.

Friday will be a homecoming of sorts for Angels star Mike Trout, who grew up a Phillies fan in Millville, N.J., a short drive from Philadelphia (he's still an Eagles season-ticket holder). There was a lot of chatter a few years ago that Trout may eventually leave the Angels to play for his "hometown" team, but of course he signed long term with the Halos. Harper even recruited him.

Several thousand Millville and Cumberland County residents are expected to take the 45-minute drive north on Route 55, cross the Walt Whitman Bridge and pour into Citizens Bank Park for Trout's first series in Philadelphia in eight years. The Angels were scheduled to play at the Phillies in 2020, but that series was wiped out in the shortened season.

Rookie Chase Silseth (1-1, 3.07 ERA) is scheduled to make his fourth big-league start for the Angels. He shut out the A's on one hit over six innings in his MLB debut but hasn't lasted more than 4.1 innings in his past two. Silseth was the first player from the 2021 MLB Draft class to reach the majors.

Zach Eflin (1-4, 4.60 ERA) is scheduled for the Phillies and he was bombed last time out, allowing seven runs in six innings at the Mets to see his ERA rise nearly a full run from 3.65. Eflin, though, is 1-1 with a 1.57 ERA in four home starts. Trout has never faced him.

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