MLB picks: Phillies vs. Mets, Indians vs. White Sox

It’s another busy day and night on the diamond, with 15 games on the slate. We’ve crunched the numbers and will now reveal our two wisest Wednesday wagers.  

First, we’ll preview an NL East matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets. Then it’s off to Chicago for an AL Central showdown between the Cleveland Indians and the White Sox.

Philadelphia Phillies (6-5) at New York Mets (4-3), 7:10 p.m. ET, MLBN

A high-scoring game appears to be in store at Citi Field this Wednesday night.

The visiting Phillies will send former Met Zack Wheeler to the mound. He faced his prior club three times in 2020 and produced modest results. Wheeler allowed eight earned runs over 20 1/3 innings (3.54 ERA) with a .273 opponent batting average.

He’ll have to be wary of New York’s red-hot table-setter Brandon Nimmo, who has a 1.146 OPS (13th in the majors) through seven games despite not hitting any home runs.

David Peterson counters for the Mets, but Philadelphia has had his number in his first two outings against them. The Phillies tattooed him for six runs over four innings in last Wednesday’s 8-2 win over their division rival at Citizens Bank Park. The Denver native was chased after allowing five runs in two innings of work in his lone start against the Phils last season.

Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins are a combined 7-for-10 against Peterson with two home runs. Peterson likely won’t be afforded much help by a Mets bullpen that’s last in the majors in strand rate (57.4% of runners left on base).

MLB pick: Over

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Cleveland Indians (6-4) at Chicago White Sox (5-6), 8:10 p.m. ET

The White Sox were victims of a sublime pitching performance by Shane Bieber (nine innings, no runs, three hits, one walk, 11 strikeouts) on Tuesday night, and a similar fate appears to be in store for them as Zach Plesac will start at Guaranteed Rate Field on Wednesday night.

Plesac tamed the Detroit Tigers in his first two starts of the season, allowing just two earned runs in 13 innings of work. He frustrated the White Sox lineup on three occasions in 2020, producing a 1.74 ERA over 20 2/3 innings. He struck out 25 batters while walking only three, and his opponent batting average was .164.

Carlos Rodon counters for the White Sox, and while Cleveland has had their problems with him, their offense can look forward to facing Chicago’s second-worst bullpen by strand rate (62.5% runners left on base).

Trend bettors should note that the White Sox have dropped 15 of their last 21 games against right-handed starters.

MLB pick: Indians +100