Phillies vs. Blue Jays prediction and odds for Tuesday, Aug. 15 (Yusei Kikuchi will shine in series opener)

The Toronto Blue Jays are still holding on to a slim 2.0-game lead in the American League wild card race, so every game and series is important for them the rest of the season.

On Tuesday night, they'll start a three-game interleague series against the Philadelphia Phillies. In Tuesday's series opener, Zack Wheeler (3.74 ERA) will get the start against Yusei Kikuchi (3.53 ERA) of the Jays.

Let's dive into the odds for the game and then I'll break down my best bet.

Phillies vs. Blue Jays odds, run line, and total

Phillies vs. Blue Jays prediction and pick

Instead of looking at a side or total in this game, my favorite bet for Tuesday night's series opener is a player prop targeting Yusei Kikuchi.

Kikuchi is set to get the start for the Blue Jays today as they host the Philadelphia Phillies, and I expect him to have a strong start in the strikeout department. The Phillies have struggled in this area lately, especially when facing left-handed pitchers.

Over the past 30 days, they have the 10th highest strikeout rate at 23.9% and that number increased to 24.6% when specifically facing lefty arms.

It's also worth noting Kikuchi has gone over this total in two of his last four starts and his strikeout rate goes up from 8,7 per nine innings on the road to 9.8 per nine innings at home.

I'll take Kikuchi to go OVER his strikeout total tonight.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!