Happy Friday to all of you baseball fans out there! August is officially here, and with the trade deadline wrapping up epically yesterday, it’s a great day to tune into all of the action. There are a lot of exciting games on the slate today, and instead of spreading our favorite picks from Underdog across them, we decided to hone in on one matchup.
The Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers are going at it tonight, a game that could be low-scoring given the pitcher’s duel between Jack Flaherty and Ranger Suarez.
Will these pitchers provide the type of matchup fans are looking for? We’ll soon see. Let’s get into our top props together!
For being among the best teams in the MLB, the Tigers sure do strike out a lot. They are a bottom-five team when it comes to K’s per game, which is good news for Ranger Suarez tonight, who could greatly benefit from their willingness to swing.
Suarez’s strikeout totals haven’t been all that impressive in 2025, as he’s only fanned 90 batters this year, but he’s been on something of a hot streak lately.
He mowed down eight New York Yankees on Saturday, his third eight-strikeout game in his last seven starts. There’s no reason for us to fade him against the Tigers, so we’re going to take the over on his K line as a result.
Our pitcher picks might seem contrarian tonight, but hear us out. Flaherty might be tied for having the 13th-most strikeouts of any pitcher in the big leagues this year, but his high ERA is concerning.
The Phillies don’t strike out that much, an average of 7.9 per game, and considering how well they’ve mashed the ball lately, we think they’re going to strike early and often.
Flaherty might only last a few innings, giving him minimal chances to hit the over on this strikeout total. The Phillies are just too good, so we’re taking the under in this spot.
Speaking of Phillies players who mash the ball, let’s talk about Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber’s batting average is nothing special, which might be disturbing for baseball purists out there, but his home run total is nothing to sneeze at.
He’s tied for third in that category this season, and is also third in RBI and fifth in OPS. Schwarber should take advantage of any weaknesses Flaherty might have in the early goings of this one, easily going over his HRR line.