This pick takes us into Curse mode, but being honest I was ready to play this early this morning yet wanted to wait until Bryce Harper was officially in the lineup and he is ... I'm not sure the fact Manager Joe Girardi was fired means a whole heck of a lot. Sometimes there's an "interim coach/manager" kick immediately, though. Phils pitcher Zach Eflin has a 1.57 ERA in three home starts. Philadelphia also was off Wednesday, while the free-falling Angels had to play a doubleheader at the Yankees (they lost both, but we won on both) and then travel with a thinned-out bullpen. Philadelphia absolutely SHOULD win this game, but as Phils backers like SportsLine superfan Robert S. know, the Phillies usually lose when they shouldn't and win when they shouldn't.

The Phillies had a nice comeback win Wednesday to halt a five-game losing streak and then waited through an off day to announce the news of manager Joe Girardi's firing Friday. Pitcher Zach Eflin has been a train wreck every other start this season. He gave up seven runs in his last start. The Phillies have lost three of his last four starts, but the Angels have lost eight straight and scored just one run in each of the last three. Look for the Phillies step up and fight hard Friday.

Looks like this pitching matchup was just announced as Zach Eflin vs. Chase Silseth, but make sure you list your pitchers here just in case we have a change, especially with Joe Girardi getting fired. The Phillies relieved manager Joe Girardi today and I have to imagine that will wake up a sleepwalking Phillies bunch. They also had yesterday off to reset after they finally ended their losing streak. The Angels have now lost eight straight games and they had no time to reset after getting swept in their doubleheader yesterday. The bullpen is a mess with no reliable relievers, and they also didn’t score more than one run in a game against the Yankees. Chase Silseth was only drafted last season and he has made just 10 professional starts. That is asking way too much of someone who was drafted last year, and it’s not like he was some massively coveted prospect either. He was drafted in the 11th round in 2021. So the Angels didn’t like him enough to draft him in the first 300 players, yet were able to determine in 8 minor league appearances that he was all that? Im not buying it. Zach Eflin struggled his last time out but that was against the Dodgers on the road. He is significantly better at home with a 1.57 ERA. Jean Segura is now injured but Bryce Harper is expected to be back in the linuep. I like the Angels to lose their ninth straight game.