Phillies vs. Rays Wednesday MLB probable pitchers, odds: Behind streaking Taijuan Walker, Philadelphia eyes historic 11th straight road win
The Phillies haven't lost on the road in weeks.
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On June 12, the Philadelphia Phillies lost in Arizona to fall to 13-23 on the road, the third-worst away mark in the majors. They haven't lost on the road since and eye an historic 11th straight road win Wednesday with red-hot Taijuan Walker on the mound against the suddenly struggling Tampa Bay Rays, who are -120 favorites at Caesars Sportsbook.
Aaron Nola was dominant on the mound for the Phillies in Tuesday's 3-1 win at Tropicana Field. The 10-game road winning streak has tied the 1969 Phillies for the team's second-longest since 1901. The modern-era franchise record is 13 in a row in 1976. That team finished 101-61 but didn't win the pennant.
As well as the Phillies are playing, they are almost surely going to have to take the wild card route to the pennant for a second straight year. They're currently 11.5 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East. Philadelphia is currently in a three-way tie for the NL's final wild card spot and is -180 to make the playoffs, with No at +160.
Walker (9-3, 3.93 ERA) struggled early this season after signing a big free-agent contract with the Phillies (6.53 ERA through nine starts) but has allowed one run or fewer in five straight starts, going 5-0 with a 0.84 ERA and .174 opponents' batting average in that stretch. The right-hander will pitch at Tropicana Field for the first time since 2016, when he was with Seattle.
The righty has faced just one current Rays hitter: Manuel Margot, who is 1-for-7 with a single and a strikeout off Walker. All seven plate appearances came in 2017 when Margot was a Padre and Walker a Diamondback. Walker is +150 to record a win tonight and set at over/under 2.5 earned runs.
Tampa Bay is looking to avoid its first four-game losing streak of the season and is 6-9 over its past 15 games – a stretch that started with the club's only other three-game skid this year. The Rays avoided a four-game skid that time with a 7-2 home win over Baltimore on June 21.
The Rays started 30-7 at home but are 4-4 since there. They will use an opener in Zack Littell (0-1, 4.38 ERA) followed by bulk pitcher Yonny Chirinos (4-3, 3.64 ERA).
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