Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies Prediction, Preview and Odds - 09/09/2026

Game Time: 6:40 pm ET, Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Venue:  Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA 

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Astros +134, Phillies -162; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Astros +135, Phillies -165; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Astros +135, Phillies -165; Over/Under:  8 runs

Houston Astros:  73-71 (1st place, AL West)

Philadelphia Phillies:  81-63 (2nd place, NL East)

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Houston Astros:  6-4 last 10

Philadelphia Phillies:  7-3 last 10

The Astros are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 73-71 record overall and have a road record of 36-33. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Phillies on Wednesday with the series opener still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 13th in the MLB with a .722 OPS. Hayden Wesneski is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Hunter Brown is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 2 ER, 0 HR, and 2 BB with 7 SO on 6 hits through 6 IP against the Chicago White Sox.

The Phillies are entering this series off a win and split their 4-game series against the Atlanta Braves 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with an 81-63 record overall and have a home record of 40-32. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Astros on Wednesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 19th in the MLB with a .712 OPS. Rookie pitcher Andrew Painter is their starting pitcher on Monday while Cristopher Sánchez is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 16-5 with a 2.58 ERA this season. His team won 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 0 homers, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts on 5 hits through 6 innings pitched against the Atlanta Braves.

The current betting odds have the Phillies listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Astros have looked good in their games this season with their 73-71 record overall which has them right at the top of the AL West. They have been a good road team too with their 36-33 road record this year. Meanwhile, the Phillies have looked really good in their games this season with their 81-63 record overall which has them right near the top of the NL East. They have looked good in their own ballpark too with their 40-32 home record this season. The Astros are 6-4 in their last 10 games and they have looked good lately, but the Phillies are the hotter team at the moment. The Phillies have been rolling lately, now 7-3 in their last 10 games, and they are going to have the better pitching matchup here. The Phillies are going with Sanchez in this one and he has looked great this season. He is 16-5 with a 2.58 ERA and he has been their ace this year, leading the league in wins this season. He did give up 3 earned runs in his last start, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year and the team has still been having success with him lately, winning 3 of their last 4 games with him starting. The Astros are going with Brown in this one and he has looked good this season too. He is 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA and he hasn't been giving up many runs. He only gave up 2 earned runs in his last start and the team has won 2 games in a row now with him starting too, but even that could be too many runs with how good Sanchez has looked lately. Sanchez will be looking to bounce back with a better start at home and the Phillies bullpen has looked great lately too, so look for them to take advantage of this pitching matchup. The best way to place a bet here is on the Phillies to win this game. 

Astros Phillies Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, September 9, 2026 (6:40 pm ET start time) is Phillies 2 Astros 0.

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Houston Astros: 249-219 (-6.9 units) on the moneyline in all games. 51-46 (-6.4 units) on the moneyline vs. an NL team with a team batting average of .255 or worse. 61-57 (-11.8 units) on the moneyline against left-handed starters. 24-15 UNDER as a road underdog of +125 to +175.

Philadelphia Phillies: 275-202 (+12.3 units) on the moneyline in all games. 151-88 (+22.4 units) on the moneyline in home games. 231-133 (+30.4 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 35-23 UNDER when the money line is -100 to -150.

Houston Astros:  M. Burrows (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. S. Okert (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Hamstring. B. Matthews (CF) Sixty Day IL - Knee. C. Correa (SS) Sixty Day IL - Ankle. B. Walter (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

Philadelphia Phillies:  F. Reyes (LF) Sixty Day IL - Wrist. C. Kilian (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Oblique. T. Banks (RP) Sixty Day IL - Forearm. B. Keller (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Rojas (CF) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. A. Garcia (RF) Sixty Day IL - Lat.

“He’s been pitched very differently, been pitched very tough, which is expected. He’s getting his hits, he’s getting his walks. The ball hasn’t left the yard [much] but I think it’s coming. I think there’s going to be a stretch there where he’s going to come out and hit home runs. The quality of the at-bats has been there.” - Joe Espada on Yordan Alvarez after his team’s loss against the Diamondbacks in their game on Sunday. 

“Zeus has been crazy for a while now.” - Don Mattingly on Jesus Luzardo after his team’s win against the Braves in their game on Monday.

Jeremy Peña (R) SS

Yordan Alvarez (L) DH

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Jose Altuve (R) 2B

Christian Walker (R) 1B

Nelson Velázquez (R) LF

Daulton Varsho (L) CF

Cam Smith (R) RF

Christian Vázquez (R) C

Kyle Schwarber (L) DH

Trea Turner (R) SS

Bryce Harper (L) RF

Luis Arraez (L) 2B

Alec Bohm (R) 1B

Bryson Stott (L) 3B

Brandon Marsh (L) LF

J.T. Realmuto (R) C

Justin Crawford (L) CF

Batting Average:  Yordan Alvarez (.314)

Hits:  Yordan Alvarez (160)

Home Runs:  Yordan Alvarez (38)

RBI:  Yordan Alvarez (95)

Stolen Bases:  Cam Smith (10)

Wins:  Peter Lambert (8)

Saves:  Josh Hader (23)

ERA:  Josh Hader (0.69)

Batting Average:  Bryan De La Cruz (.321)

Hits:  Bryce Harper (137)

Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber (43)

RBI:  Kyle Schwarber (87)

Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott (24)

Wins:  Cristopher Sánchez (16)

Saves:  Jhoan Duran (30)

ERA:  Bryse Wilson (0.00)

Managers:

Houston Astros: Joe Espada (3rd season)

Philadelphia Phillies: Don Mattingly (Interim)