Cleveland Guardians at Philadelphia Phillies, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors PHI.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Guardians- Travis BazzanaBatting1-4
- Slade CecconiPitching5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 K
Phillies- Bryce HarperBatting3-4
- Zack WheelerPitching6.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 K
Scoring summary
- 6García walked, Harper scored, Stott to second, Bohm to third.0–3
- 4Stott singled to center, Harper scored and Bohm scored.0–2
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Phillies 60%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 55–60% have won 55.5% of 2,596 graded games.
- Market
- PHI 60%
- ML CLE +138 / PHI -167
- Pre-line forecast
- PHI 61%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- PHI 56%
- Ratings vs. market
- −4.2 pts
- PHI: Elo 55.6%, market 59.8%
- Fair odds
- PHI -149
- CLE +149 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- CLE 3.1 – 3.9 PHI
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 7
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | CLE | PHI | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1525 | 1518 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | −13 | +16 | CLE: Slade Cecconi: team allows 0.63 more runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) · PHI: Zack Wheeler: team allows 0.79 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | PHI +39 Elo | PHI 55.6% | |
| Market-implied ratings | PHI 61.6% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | PHI 60.7% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | PHI 59.8% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Opponent Elo: how strong the teams each has played are, 1st the toughest.
| CLE | Stat | PHI |
|---|---|---|
| 16th of 304.3 | Runs scored | 4.121st of 30 |
| 7th of 303.9 | Runs allowed | 4.619th of 30 |
| 6th of 30+0.5 | Margin | −0.522nd of 30 |
| 1st of 309–1 | Last 10 | 6–48th of 30 |
| 8th of 3016–12 | Road vs home | 13–1522nd of 30 |
| 17th of 301500 | Opponent Elo | 149226th of 30 |
| 8th of 301525 | Elo rating | 151811th of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  CLE |  PHI |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 29–24 | 18–33 |
| Last 10 | 7–3 | 4–6 |
| Favorite | 13–14 | 11–26 |
| Underdog | 16–10 | 7–7 |
| Overs–unders | 26–27 | 24–25–2 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 4–6 | 2–8 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
CLE 6–4 PHI in their last 10 meetings; the forecast called 5 of 10.