It’s time to get it back to the 10-games-over-.500, most-wins-in-baseball Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phils are back home on Friday for the first time since April 21ST, are favored over the San Francisco Giants, and have Aaron Nola on the bump.

What could go wrong? Well, it’s not all perfect because the game is on Apple TV, so make sure everyone you know over the age of 40 is aware of that well before 6:40 p.m.

The Phils come into Friday with a six-game home winning streak and a 13-3 record in their last sixteen, but they are only -162 on the money line against an average Giants team.

That’s because the series opener is expected to be all about pitching. Nola opposes reliever-turned-starter Jordan Hicks, who allowed 21 hits and just six earned runs in 34 innings this season. The Giants right-handed hurler is coming off his best strikeout performance of the season with nine punchouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Usually there’s a significant home/road split for Giants pitchers because their ball park is very pitcher friendly, but Hicks allowed six hits over 10 innings in two road starts so far in 2024.

Nola pitched into the eighth inning in each of his last three starts and he has not conceded more than three earned runs since his season debut against Atlanta on March 30.

Nola’s outs prop sits at 18.5 with the over at plus-money. I would look into betting that since the Giants rank in the bottom half of the majors in most road batting props.

Jorge Soler is the most notable name in the lineup. Even though Gabe Kapler is gone, the Giants still like to platoon certain hitters based on pitching matchups.

It’s not like the Giants have a great lineup even with that strategy. They rank 17th in the majors in batting average against righties. They only rank 20th in strikeouts against RHPs, though, so Nola’s outs prop is the way to go.

The Phillies lineup may not explode for a high run total on Friday, but patience could play off at the plate. Hicks walked multiple batters in three of his last four starts. That’s why Hicks’ walks prop sits at 2.5.

However, it is notable that the Phillies scored at least four runs in five of Nola’s six starts. The Phillies team total sits at 3.5, so that may be a trend worth looking at.

None of the Phillies hitters have a ton of history against Hicks, so I’ll point out some other trends for consideration on NJ sports betting apps and PA sports betting apps.

Trea Turner leads the Phillies with 23 hits at home. Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber are the only other Phils with 15 home hits. Turner, Bohm and Brandon Marsh all have 20-plus hits against right-handers.

Six of Schwarber’s eight home runs have come at Citizens Bank Park, but he leads the team with 24 strikeouts against RHPs and has a .121 average against righties.

On the other hand, the Giants lost Hicks’ last three starts and failed to score more than three runs in each of those games.