Philadelphia Phillies at Cincinnati Reds

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
PHI	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	0
CIN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0

Jesús Luzardo drew Brady Singer for the rubber match, and neither one blinked. Luzardo came in fresh off his first career All-Star nod and rolling — he'd allowed just 1 earned run in 6.0 innings against Kansas City his last time out, striking out 9 without a walk. Singer needed a bounce-back after a rough Baltimore start, and Cincinnati needed him to find it in a series that had already swung wildly in both directions.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Phillies(51-42)

LWLLW

1

-1.5-104-163o9.5+113

Reds(42-49)

WLWLL

0

+1.5+104+160u9.5-113

Best BetPhillies -167

Postgame

Hit — Luzardo and the Phillies won outright in a clean 1-0 decision.

Pregame

Philadelphia went off at a heavy favorite here, and the price reflected a rotation that just added its first All-Star arm in Luzardo. Backing the Phillies outright in a spot like this is about trusting the better arm to win the day, and that's exactly what played out. The Reds simply don't have the pitching depth right now to consistently beat a team pitching this well.

This finale followed two games that couldn't have looked more different. Zack Wheeler, stewing over an All-Star snub, torched the Reds for a career-high-tying 14 strikeouts in Game 1, and Kyle Schwarber flexed his own power surge in the process. Cincinnati answered by teeing off for 11 runs in Game 2, with a four-homer inning that flipped the series right back. That whiplash made the finale's stakes clear — whoever settled down on the mound was going to decide who left Cincinnati with the series.

Jesús Luzardo

(9-4)·3.43 ERA

Jul 4 @ Royals

W

6.0IP

1ER

9K

0BB

95P

07/09 Lineup

Brady Singer

(5-9)·4.53 ERA

Jul 3 vs Orioles

L

5.0IP

2ER

6K

5BB

93P

07/09 Lineup

Singer settled down. His 5.0-inning, 2-earned-run line against Baltimore last time out wasn't pretty, but against Philadelphia he found his best form of the season, working seven innings and keeping the Phillies off the board until a single unearned run snuck in late. It just wasn't enough, because Luzardo was even better on the other side, and the Reds' best chance to answer came far too late.

Philadelphia Phillies

(51-42)

Jul 8L@ Reds5-11

Jul 7W@ Reds4-1

Jul 6L@ Royals1-15

Jul 5L@ Royals2-5

Jul 5W@ Royals6-1

Cincinnati Reds

(42-49)

Jul 8Wvs Phillies11-5

Jul 7Lvs Phillies1-4

Jul 5Wvs Orioles3-2

Jul 4Lvs Orioles5-8

Jul 3Lvs Orioles0-3

Cincinnati's lineup had a golden shot to salvage the series in the ninth, loading the bases with nobody out — only for Eugenio Suárez to strike out and Noelvi Marte to ground into a double play that snuffed the rally cold. That sequence tells you everything about where these two clubs are right now: Philadelphia finds a way to close it out, Cincinnati finds a way to leave it open.

Philadelphia Phillies

(4)

• 15-Day-ILTanner Banks (RP) — The Phillies placed Banks on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left forearm strain.07/09
• 15-Day-ILLou Trivino (RP) — The Phillies selected Trivino's contract from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.07/08
• 60-Day-ILJohan Rojas (CF) — Rojas (suspension) underwent surgery Friday to repair the UCL in his right elbow and will face an expected recovery timeline of 6-to-8 months, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.06/25
• 60-Day-ILAdolis Garcia (RF) — The Phillies announced that Garcia underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair a torn right lat, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.06/24

Cincinnati Reds

(7)

• Day-To-DayMatt McLain (2B) — Reds manager Terry Francona said that McLain is not in Thursday's lineup against the Phillies due to a calf issue, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.07/09
• 10-Day-ILBlake Dunn (CF) — Dunn (elbow) hoped to resume baseball activity Saturday but was not ready, MLB.com reports.07/05
• 10-Day-ILDane Myers (CF) — Myers received an injection in the AC joint of his left shoulder Saturday, MLB.com reports.07/05
• 10-Day-ILKe'Bryan Hayes (3B) — Hayes (back) will stick with High-A Dayton this weekend and then have his rehab moved to Triple-A Louisville next week, MLB.com reports.07/04
• 15-Day-ILTony Santillan (RP) — Reds manager Terry Francona said Friday that an MRI on Santillan's left oblique showed a significant strain, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.06/26
• 60-Day-ILGraham Ashcraft (RP) — Ashcraft is expected to resume throwing soon after receiving good news Tuesday regarding the imaging on his injured right elbow UCL, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.06/30
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Williamson (SP) — Williamson (shoulder) injured his finger while working out, and his rehab program has been pushed back by about 10 days as a result, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.06/28

The injury picture explains a lot of the gap. Philadelphia's bullpen took a hit when Tanner Banks landed on the 15-day IL with a forearm strain, but the Phillies are still playing meaningful baseball in a tight NL East race. The Reds, meanwhile, are shorthanded across the pitching staff with multiple arms already lost for extended stretches, and losing Matt McLain to a calf issue for this one didn't help a lineup trying to string together innings against a red-hot Luzardo.

A 1-0 final says it all — this series had home runs raining down one night and a shutout the next, and that unpredictability is exactly why nobody in either dugout wanted this finale to slip away.