Chicago pays a visit to Philadelphia on Friday, hoping to shut down the Phillies bats in baseball action at Citizens Bank Park.

Paul Maholm gets the ball in front of a hostile crowd for the Cubs on this day; he's 1-2 on the season. The Phillies, meanwhile, will counter with Roy Halladay, who will be looking to improve on his 3-1 mark.



View Chi Cubs vs Philadelphia Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had installed the Phillies as -250 moneyline favorites in this particular MLB matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 7 before betting started to move the line.

Power Rankings:
According to new MLB Power Rankings here, it's the National League No. 14-ranked Phillies and the National League No. 8-rated Cubs in this matchup.



How They Match Up:
At the plate, Philadelphia owns the No. 5 ranking for hits in the National League at 8.7 per game. By contrast, the Cubs are rated No. 11 in the same category at 7.7 per game.

Chicago brings the National League's No. 13-rated defense to this matchup, facing the Phillies' league No. 4-ranked defense.

In their last action, Chicago was a 5-1 loser at home against the Cardinals. Bettors on St. Louis at -165 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (6) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. The Cubs were saddled with a loss last time out in Chris Volstad's start, as they lost 5-1 against St. Louis on Wednesday at Wrigley Field.

In their last action, Philadelphia was a 7-2 Sportsbook on the road against the Diamondbacks. Bettors on Philadelphia at -119 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (9) sent OVER bettors home happy as well. The Phillies grabbed a win last time out, defeating Trevor Cahill and the Diamondbacks 7-2 on Wednesday at Chase Field.


Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing Philadelphia are 5-5
After playing St. Louis are 1-9
After a loss are 3-7

Philadelphia Phillies Trends:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
Before playing Chi Cubs are 6-4
After playing Arizona are 7-3
After a win are 4-6

A few Cubs at Phillies trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs' last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs' last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chi Cubs' last 8 games on the road
Chi Cubs are 3-8 SU in their last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games
Philadelphia is 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing Chi Cubs
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs


Next up:
Chi Cubs at Philadelphia, Saturday, April 28