The Philadelphia Phillies began the second half of the 2026 MLB season with a major slump, losing 10 of their first 13 games after the All-Star break. But they’ve gone 16-5 since and find themselves just three games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
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Philadelphia (73-58) seeks its first double-digit winning streak since 2010 (11 games) when it begins a nine-game road streak Monday with the opener of a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners (62-69) at 9:40 p.m. ET on Monday at T-Mobile Park. The Phillies, who occupy the second NL wild-card spot, are coming off their ninth consecutive victory, an amazing 6-4 comeback triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Trailing 4-0 with with one on and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Philadelphia staged a six-run rally against St. Louis closer Riley O’Brien that was capped by Kyle Schwarber’s two-run, walk-off homer. The blast was the 33-year-old slugger’s major league-leading 39th of the season.
While the Phillies strengthen their position for a postseason berth, the Mariners are attempting to remain in the playoff picture in the American League. Seattle followed a six-game slide by winning six of its next nine contests before being thumped 19-2 by the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
The Mariners are the defending AL West champions but have work to do over their final 31 games if they hope to reach the postseason. The club is three games out of a wild-card spot with five teams ahead of it and also trails the division co-leading Houston Astros and Texas Rangers by three.
Monday’s MLB schedule features nine other contests, including the opener of a three-game set between the Cubs (75-56) and Arizona Diamondbacks (69-62) at 9:40 p.m. ET at Chase Field in Phoenix. The Cubs, who ended a three-game skid with Sunday’s blowout victory over the Mariners, sit atop the NL wild-card standings. Arizona has won three of its last four contests and is two games behind the San Diego Padres for the third wild card.
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The Padres (71-60) seek their fourth straight triumph when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates (63-69) at 9:40 p.m. ET for the opener of their three-game series at Petco Park. San Diego swept its three-game set against the Minnesota Twins over the weekend after alternating wins and losses over its previous six contests.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins (63-68) look to get back on track and stay afloat in the AL playoff race as they begin a three-game set with the Athletics (51-80) at 9:40 p.m. ET at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif. The Twins, who were victims of three-game sweeps in two of their last three series, trail the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox by 5 1/2 games and are two back in the wild-card standings.
The Phillies are -111 money line betting favorites against the Mariners in the newest consensus MLB betting odds, while the Cubs are -140 betting favorites against the Diamondbacks. The Padres are -111 favorites over the Pirates at sports betting apps and the Twins are -152 to win against the Athletics.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Monday, Aug. 24. All times Eastern
MLB best bets, where to watch
Twins at Athletics
Time: 9:40 p.m. | Location: West Sacramento, Calif. | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick — Model: Athletics ML (+138)
The Twins’ road losing streak is at five games after they were swept in San Diego over the weekend. They also lost five straight meetings with the Athletics dating back to last season before winning the final two contests of their three-game series at Target Field in late July. The Athletics are coming off back-to-back victories at Houston and looking to win three in a row for just the fifth time this season. They endured a pair of slides of nine or more games since the most recent run, a four-gamer from June 9-13. The SportsLine Projection Model believes they will prevail Monday and assigns the pick an “A” grade as the Athletics win in 51% of its simulations.
Phillies at Mariners
Time: 9:40 p.m. | Location: Seattle | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model: Over 6.5 (-121) | Expert: Zack Wheeler Over 6.5 strikeouts (-152, Alex Selesnick)
Phillies games have not been lacking offense of late, as eight or more total runs were scored in nine of their last contests. The same is true of Seattle games, with each of the six and nine of the past 11 producing at least nine combined runs. Philadelphia scored seven or more times in two of its last three outings and the Mariners allowed at least 19 twice in their past six contests. Each of the last five games Phillies ace Zach Wheeler started have finished with eight or more total runs scored, and the SportsLine Projection Model sees another high-scoring affair Monday as its simulations have the Over hitting almost 65% of the time. Wheeler registered seven strikeouts in his last outing, the first time he reached that number in five turns, and SportsLine props expert Alex Selesnick is backing him to repeat the feat against the Mariners.
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Pirates at Padres
Time: 9:40 p.m. | Location: San Diego | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model: Padres ML (-111) | Expert: Braxton Ashcraft Under 5.5 hits allowed (-131, PropBetGuy)
After producing a total of eight runs while losing two of three to the Mets in New York, the Padres returned home and rediscovered their offense as they outscored the Twins 21-1 in their three-game sweep this past weekend. Pittsburgh’s nine-game road trip started poorly as it was swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Diego won two of three in the “Steel City” earlier this season, and the SportsLine Projection Model feels a fourth straight loss is in store for the Pirates as the Padres win the series opener in 56% of its simulations. Pittsburgh right-hander Braxton Ashcraft has pitched well this month, allowing fewer than six hits in each of his first four starts. SportsLine props expert PropBetGuy (96-66, +1452 on his last 162 MLB player prop picks) thinks the streak will continue as the 26-year-old Ashcraft has given up more than five hits in only eight of his 25 turns this season.
Cubs at Diamondbacks
Time: 9:40 p.m. | Location: Phoenix | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model: Diamondbacks +1.5 (-134) | Expert: Cubs Over 4.5 runs (-123, Adam Thompson)
The Cubs took over the major-league scoring lead (684 runs) with Sunday’s 19-run outburst at Seattle. But they went 1-3 over their previous four contests, with the victory coming by just one run. But the Diamondbacks have won three of their last four, and the SportsLine Projection Model feels likes them to at least keep Monday’s game close as its simulations have Arizona covering the run line 62% of the time. It’s highly unlikely that the Cubs will put on an offensive display similar to yesterday’s, but SportsLine expert Adam Thompson sees them scoring at least five times against Diamondbacks righty Merrill Kelly, who enters with a 5.37 ERA, has yielded five or more runs in three of his last four starts and was tagged for six over 4 1/3 innings by the Cubs earlier this year.
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