Philadelphia Phillies vs. Texas Rangers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/22/2022

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

Venue: Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX

Where to watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, Bally Sports Southwest

DraftKings: Phillies -135, Rangers +115

BetMGM: Phillies -145, Rangers +120

Caesars: Phillies -135, Rangers +115

Phillies: 36-33

Rangers: 32-35

Friends, I don't normally like to get on this space a lot and express the fact that I actually like being right. I feel like it's a situation where if I'm right for one particular game that it feels stupid for me to even think that I should have gotten this one right and that I should feel very good about myself. And if you read my analysis on Tuesday's game, then you feel the same way obviously. And in the case of the Texas Rangers not only winning, but dominating the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of this two game set, I have every intention to feel pretty good about myself.

And you should as well if you had the Rangers defeating the Phillies 7-0 on Tuesday night behind another masterful performance from Martin Perez and home runs from Nathaniel Lowe, Jonah Heim and Marcus Semien. it was a performance that was much needed from the Rangers after faltering in Detroit over the weekend. Is quite honestly I don't think many people expected this to happen. There were certainly some instances where I did not think the Rangers would be able to put on that many runs in that short of time, but once they were able to get past Kyle Gibson and work their way to the Philadelphia bullpen, it was just a matter of time for Texas.

But I feel like we do need to talk a little bit more about Perez because if he gets snubbed from the All Star game I think the city of Arlington is going to have a riot this year. In a case where the Raiders need to have a true ace in the rotation, I don't think anyone expected Perez to be as close to such a thing as he has been this year. He now has five wins and seven decisions and his ERA is back below a two at 1.96. Whatever career renaissance Perez is on right now, it truly is remarkable to see. I mean, come on, who else can throw 6 easy innings and strike out six while only allowing six hits against one of the hottest teams in baseball?

Now far be it from me to question Philadelphia on just a one off, the Rangers did have an extra day off to prepare and also did it at home so I'm not completely surprised that the Rangers found a way to not only win this game, but do it in dominant fashion. At the same time, I want to chop this up to just a off day for Philadelphia considering this is much better of a team than we've in tyssa pacted. Texas accumulated 24 total bases compared to the Phillies 6 end that normally is not something that would happen on a consistent basis.

But at the very least, the Rangers have done what they needed to do. They got a win against library good team in the National League. And at the very least, the Rangers look good once again. If they can keep this kind of play up, things are gonna get even better for Texas.

At risk of looking completely stupid and as much as I want the Rangers to win this game and sweep this mini series, I don't think the road he will be taking things lightly going into this one. I think the Phillies will find a way to bounce back and get themselves a victory in Arlington. Phillies win 7-5

Phillies are 15-4 in June and 27-16 in the month over the past three seasons.

Rangers are 15-17 when the line is between +125 and -125 this season.

Rangers are 5-1 against NL East teams this season.

Phillies:
Kyle Schwarber (L) DH
Rhys Hoskins (R) 1B
Didi Gregorius (L) SS
Nick Castellanos (R) RF
J.T. Realmuto (R) C
Odubel Herrera (L) CF
Alec Bohm (R) 3B
Bryson Stott (L) 2B
Matt Vierling (R) LF
SP - Zack Wheeler

Rangers:
Marcus Semien (R) 2B
Corey Seager (L) SS
Adolis Garcia (R) RF
Kole Calhoun (L) LF
Jonah Heim (S) C
Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B
Ezequiel Duran (R) 3B
Brad Miller (L) DH
Leody Taveras (S) CF
SP - Jon Gray

Batting average: Bryce Harper -- .326

Home runs: Kyle Schwarber -- 18

RBI: Bryce Harper -- 48

Wins: Zack Wheeler -- 6

ERA: Zack Wheeler -- 2.69

Batting average: Nathaniel Lowe -- .274

Home runs: Corey Seager -- 15

RBI: Adolis Garcia -- 45

Wins: Martin Perez -- 5

ERA: Martin Perez -- 1.96