<p>The Dodgers, Braves, and Mets all won 100-plus games this season, but none of them are around to play in the National League Championship Series. Instead, we get a pair of underdogs as the Padres and Phillies meet in this best-of-seven affair to decide a pennant, beginning with Game 1 Tuesday night in San Diego.</p>
<p>Yu Darvish, who already owns two wins this postseason, gets the call for the Padres here against Zack Wheeler for Philadelphia.</p>
<p>Here’s how we home-worked this NLCS opener with our free playoff baseball betting pick.</p>
<h2>NLCS Betting Odds</h2>
<p>The playoff baseball betting lines opened San Diego at around -120 for this NLCS opener, with an over/under of 6.5 runs. Early betting action then bumped both the Padres to -125 and that total to seven.</p>
<p>San Diego is also chalked at -125 to win this NLCS, with Philly getting +105 as the underdog.</p>
<h2>Phillies-Padres NLCS Betting Preview</h2>
<p>Philadelphia reached this National League Championship Series by upsetting Atlanta three games to one in a divisional-round series, closing things out with an 8-3 victory last Saturday. The Phillies split the first two games of that series on the Braves’ home field, then won the next two games in Philly by a combined score of 17-3.</p>
<p>Philly also cashed in as a +165 underdog on the divisional-round series betting line.</p>
<p>So Philadelphia is back in the NLCS for the first time since 2010.</p>
<p>The Phillies opened this postseason by sweeping St. Louis in two games in a wild-card series.</p>
<p>Philadelphia closed out its regular season by winning five of its last eight games. So the Phillies are 10-4 their last 14 times out.</p>
<p>San Diego reached this NLCS by upsetting the Dodgers in four games in the other NLDS, closing that one out with a 5-3 victory Saturday. The Padres actually lost the opener of that series, then won the next three games behind the formidable starting pitching threesome of Darvish, Snell, and Musgrove.</p>
<p>The Pads also cashed in as +180 dogs on the series betting line.</p>
<p>So the Padres are back in the NLCS for the first time since 1998.</p>
<p>San Diego opened this postseason by upsetting the Mets in three games in the wild-card round.</p>
<p>The Padres closed out their regular season by winning three of their last five games. So San Diego is 8-4 its last 12 times out.</p>
<p>The Padres finished two games better than Philadelphia in the regular-season standings, but the Phillies took the season series from San Diego four games to three.</p>
<h2>Game 1 Pitching Match-Up </h2>
<p><a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/40264&quot; title="Yu Darvish Pitching Game Logs">Darvish</a> hit 20/30 on quality starts this season and is 1/2 this postseason. Last Wednesday in the NLCS against the Dodgers, he gave up three runs on three solo home runs through five innings of an 8-3 San Diego victory. And five days earlier in the wild-card round, he held the Mets to one run and six hits through seven frames of a 7-1 Padres win.</p>
<p>San Diego played 18-12 with Darvish this season, and it’s 2-0 with him this postseason.</p>
<p>Over two starts this season against Philadelphia, Darvish allowed just three runs and 13 hits through 13 innings, with one walk and 14 strikeouts. The Padres split those two games.</p>
<p><a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/48283&quot; title="Zack Wheeler Pitching Game Stats">Wheeler</a> hit 16/26 on quality starts this year, and he’s 1/2 this postseason. Last Wednesday in the NLDS against the Braves, he allowed three runs - all in the sixth inning - and four hits through six frames in a 3-1 Phillies loss. Five days before that, in the wild-card round, he held the Cardinals scoreless on two hits through 6 1/3 innings of a 6-3 Philadelphia victory.</p>
<p>The Phillies played 14-12 with Wheeler this season, and they’re 1-1 with him this postseason.</p>
<p>Over his last two starts against San Diego, one last year and one earlier this season, Wheeler threw 14 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing eight hits, with zero walks against 18 whiffs! Philadelphia won both those games.</p>
<h2>Splits With the Sticks </h2>
<p>Philadelphia batted .248 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .309 team OBP and a .418 team slugging percentage.</p>
<p>San Diego slashed .239/.317/.380 against right-handed pitching this season.</p>
<h2>The Bullpens</h2>
<p>The Padres bullpen posted a 3.83 ERA this season, along with a 1.21 WHIP and a 2.94 K/BB ratio.</p>
<p>The Phillies pen put up a 4.27 ERA, a 1.39 WHIP, and a 2.32 K/BB ratio.<br />
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<span style="font-size:16px; color:#008000;">Get more details:</span> <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1775026">Phillies vs. Padre Game 1 Betting Stats</a>
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<h2>MLB Betting Trends</h2>
<p>Philly played 40-41 on the road this season, but it’s 3-1 on the road this postseason.</p>
<p>Philly played 59-57 against right-handed starters this season.</p>
<p>San Diego played 44-37 at home this season, and it’s 2-0 at Petco Park this postseason.</p>
<p>San Diego played 58-50 against right-handed starters this season.</p>
<h2>Totals Report </h2>
<ul>
<li>The Overs played 80-75 in Phillies games this season.</li>
<li>The Unders played 82-75 in Padres games.</li>
<li>The Unders played 44-35 at Petco Park this season.</li>
<li>The Unders played 5-2 in Phillies-Padres games this season.</li>
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