MLB Baseball
2026-08-17 - Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Monday 17th August 2026 - Scheduled 6:40pm EST
11:40pm (British Time)
Preview
The National League East looks like a Division that has the potential to send at least two teams to the Playoffs, but there may also be a scope for a third team from the Division to earn a spot in the post-season.
That becomes difficult when there are still series to be played within the Division and this feels like a big one when the Philadelphia Phillies (67-58) host a three game set against the Miami Marlins (64-61). It is the Phillies who occupy one of the Wild Card spots in the National League, but the Marlins have won six of the last eight games and that leaves them just 3 games out of the Wild Card spots.
Miami should enter this final series between these Divisional rivals with some confidence having won the last four games between them and the Phillies and sweeping this series would put the Marlins in a really good spot as we move through the second half of the August schedule.
They will turn to Janson Junk to open this series and the pitcher has a 6-7 record and 4.41 ERA in seventeen starts made this season. Before arriving in Miami ahead of the 2025 season, Janson Junk had limited Major League experience and he has grown into this starter role to give the Marlins another arm in the rotation.
Last month Janson Junk was rocked by the Houston Astros, but that is the only time in the last seven starts that he has allowed more than two runs in his time on the mound. Janson Junk has bounced back to put together a 2-1 record and 1.93 ERA in four starts since that outing against the Astros, although he can struggle with his command and that can mean shortened appearances.
In his sole start against the Philadelphia Phillies this season, Janson Junk pitched into the 6th Inning and only allowed a single run, although still had to absorb the incredibly unfortunate decision loss.
There is no doubt that Miami will need the starter to go with the one that Philadelphia are sending to the mound as Cristopher Sanchez makes his twenty-sixth start of the 2026 season.
Cristopher Sanchez has a 15-4 record and 2.54 ERA in 2026 and that follows a season in which he posted a 13-5 record and 2.50 ERA in the regular season. There has been a slight dip in the level of performance, but nothing to concern the Philadelphia Phillies and Sanchez has grown into a very important part of the rotation.
Like any starter, Cristopher Sanchez will have some rough times on the mound and he had a bad day last month when knocked around for nine runs by the Kansas City Royals. The pitcher has not allowed that to affect his confidence on the mound and Sanchez has a 5-0 record and 2.29 ERA in his next six starts, while he has allowed two earned runs in 17 Innings thrown in August, which have covered three starts.
Despite this being the eleventh meeting between the Divisional rivals, Cristopher Sanchez has not pitched agains the Miami Marlins this season. He does have a 3-0 record and 1.06 ERA from seven career appearances against them.
Prediction
Both of these National League East teams enjoyed series wins over the weekend and the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies have split ten regular season meetings.
Last month the Marlins swept the Phillies at home, but Cristopher Sanchez can lay a solid foundation from which his team can snap that run of losses.
The bats were seeing the ball very well against the Minnesota Twins and the Phillies can back that up by getting the better of Janson Junk and the Miami Marlins.
The Pick :
Philadelphia Phillies 5-1 Miami Marlins
