Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

MLB Playoff picks: Best bets for Phillies vs. Diamondbacks NLCS Game 7

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated 10/24/23

The Philadelphia Phillies had a golden opportunity to put away the Arizona Diamondbacks on their home field in Game 6 of the NLCS, but they fell completely flat in a 5-1 loss. Now the NLCS will head to a Game 7 with a World Series berth on the line.

Will the Phillies be able to bounce back and reassert their dominance at Citizens Bank Park, or will the Diamondbacks continue their Cinderella run? Let's find out with our two best bets for Game 7.

Phillies first five innings -0.5 (-114 FanDuel)

With Philadelphia's bullpen issues over the last few games, we're not confident enough to lay a heavy price on the full-game moneyline. Instead, let's focus on the first five innings and put our full trust in Ranger Suarez.

In eight career postseason appearances, Suarez has a 0.94 ERA. He also struck out seven and gave up three hits and no runs against the D-Backs in Game 3. No amount of pressure seems to faze the cool-headed Suarez, so he should be able to limit Arizona's lineup for the first half of the game.

On the other side, Diamondbacks rookie Brandon Pfaadt was brilliant against the Phillies in Game 3, but this is a whole different animal on the road in a do-or-die Game 7. The 25-year-old gave up three earned runs in just 2.2 innings pitched against the Milwaukee Brewers in his lone road start this postseason, and this will be a much tougher environment than a wild-card start.

Bryce Harper over 0.5 walks (-120 DraftKings)

The Diamondbacks have been content with pitching around Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper and forcing the rest of this Philadelphia lineup to beat them. Harper has recorded at least one walk in five of the six games in the NLCS. He isn't going to see many strikes in Game 7, so as long as he's patient and doesn't start chasing out of the zone, Harper could take his base more than once on Tuesday night.

There's also a good chance Arizona intentionally walks Harper if he comes to the plate at any point with a runner on second and first base open.

Check out Yardbarker's betting hub for more previews, predictions, news and analysis.

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