The MLB post-season is set to enter the business end of the playoffs as the Philadelphia Phillies take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in a best-of-seven game series to decide who gets a place in the World Series.
The Phillies and Diamondbacks were the two teams expected to be competing in the NL Championship Series and they haven't failed to deliver, with excellent campaigns up until this point.
We'll look at the match-up and provide you with our best free MLB betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you tune into the action.
Learn more about how to bet on the MLB post-season here.
Philadelphia Phillies vs Arizona Diamondbacks information
- Game 1: Monday, 16 October - 20:07 ET, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
- Game 2: Tuesday, 17 October - 20:07 ET, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
- Game 3: Thursday, 19 October - 17:07 ET, Chase Field, Arizona
- Game 4: Friday, 20 October - 20:07 ET, Chase Field, Arizona
- Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, 21 October - 20:07 ET, Chase Field, Arizona
- Game 6 (if necessary): Monday, 23 October - 17:07 ET, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
- Game 7 (if necessary): Tuesday, 24 October - 20:07 ET, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Phillies post-season so far
The Phillies had to go through the Wild Card series in order to get here after their successful regular season, where they went 90-72.
They faced off against the Miami Marlins in a best-of-three game series, but they only needed two games to dominate and ease their way through to the Divisional Series.
Philadelphia claimed a 4-1 win in the first game with Zach Wheeler claiming the victory, before a hugely one-sided game 2 saw them claim a 7-1 win at Citizens Bank Park with Aaron Nola getting the win.
The next round saw them clash with the Atlanta Braves in a best-of-five game series where their success wasn't so straightforward. They won game 1 on the road with a 3-0 victory as Jeff Hoffman led the team, but game 2 on the road wasn't nearly as successful as the Braves earned a big 5-4 win.
Hoffman was once again in the hot seat but AJ Winter got the better of him to level up the series. Immediately after that though Philadelphia fought back with a massive win as they claimed a 10-2 victory with Aaron Nola once again leading the team, before a 3-1 win in game 4 with Ranger Suarez pitching enough to clinch the series.
Arizona Diamondbacks post-season so far
The Diamondbacks had a pretty solid regular season as they earned themselves a record of 84-78, which earned them a place in the Wild Card series against the Milwaukee Brewers in a best-of-three game series.
Arizona made no mistakes in the series though as they made quick work of the Brewers, as Joseph Mantiply claimed a victory in a 6-3 success in game one before Zac Gallen turned in an excellent performance in a 5-2 win to wrap the series up.
That then set up a best-of-five game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Diamondbacks really showed their quality and credentials with a sweep in the series to head through to the Championship Series.
Game 1 was an absolute mauling with Ken Kelly in the hot seat, as the Diamondbacks claimed a huge 11-2 win at Dodger Stadium before they repeated the victory in game 2 at the same venue with a 4-2 win as Zac Gallen returned to the hot seat.
Game 3 went back to the Chase Field and Joseph Mantiply returned to pitch and continue his and the Diamondback's unbeaten run in the post-season, as they claimed another 4-2 win to set up this NL Championship Series.
Check out our review of BetOnline sports betting here.
MLB Picks: Phillies heading to the World Series
Both the teams had to take the Wild Card route to feature in the divisional round where they then toppled their division leaders to advance to the league championship series.
For the Phillies, right-handed pitcher Zach Wheeler (13-6, 3.61 ERA) will take the mound in Game 1, while, Diamondbacks' ace Zac Gallen(17-9, 3.47 ERA) will look to pose a challenge to the Philadelphia hitters.
Wheeler is coming off a good outing against the Braves where he pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs and striking out 10. However, the Phillies were not able to win that game after a spirited comeback by the Braves winning 5-4. On the other hand, Gallen pitched 5.1 innings for two runs in a win against the Dodgers.
Former NL MVP Bryce Harper is also back in form. With that in mind and given the current form of both the pitchers, this game will be very tight going till the end, but Philadelphia will be expected to get the win in the end and that will go a long way to helping them win the series.
Philadelphia has the deepest pitching staff, bigger bats and more star power, but the energetic Diamondbacks have a ton of speed up and down their lineup and play incredible defense, so they can’t be counted out.
But Arizona's Cinderella run is bound to end, and in a longer series, you would expect the more well-rounded team to come out on top, so back the Phillies to be heading to the World Series after this series.
Check out our review of MyBookie sports betting here.
