MLB Free Premium Play 08/20: Cincinnati Reds @ Philadelphia Phillies

Cincinnati   at Philadelphia

MLB - 953 Cincinnati Reds @ 954 Philadelphia Phillies (Starting Pitchers: M. Leake vs R. Halladay) The Reds will be starting Leake today, who is coming from his second complete game of the season (and career by the way), in a game where he allowed just one earned run and four hits, while throwing 111 pitches. He had a formidable month of June with a 2.55 ERA, but then he started struggling in July by posting a 5.46 ERA and even though he has just a 3.43 ERA in August, he has just started three games this month and he had only two good performances against the lowly Cubs and Mets, while in the other game against Pittsburgh, he was average at best with four earned runs allowed in 6IP. He had just 4 days rest for this contest and looking at the fact the Phillies' roster has a .298 BA and .787 OPS against him in 47 AB, I believe Leake is going to have a letdown today and he'll struggle on this contest. On the other hand, Philadelphia will start Halladay, who is coming from a decent yet not very impressive performance in Miami, where he allowed 3 runs in 7.0 IP. Still, he struck out seven batters in that game and walked just one, putting his K/BB ratio in 27/3 over his last four starts. He didn't look very comfortable in that outing against the Marlins, yet he wasn't crushed and that's what shows me that Halladay is now close to his best level, with a high number of strikeouts and by going deep on his outings. The Reds' roster (minus the injured Votto) are just .232 BA against Halladay and looking at the fact Cincinnati is a much better hitting team against LH pitchers makes me believe that Halladay is going to have a good outing tonight. I believe there's a clear SP edge in favor of Philadelphia on this contest and even though Cincinnati is 8-2 on their last 10 games, they are coming from three series against the Cubs (twice) and the Mets, so I believe their current winning streak means very little for this contest. The Phillies ended their previous series against Milwaukee hitting well and with Halladay controlling the Reds' batters and with Leake on a letdown spot, I expect Philadelphia to have a comfortable win tonight and so, I'll take them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 954 Philadelphia Phillies ML (w/ R. Halladay) @ -150 / 1.67 on 5Dimes