Aaron Nola has been great at home and lately. We ride this with a lineup that should be able to get us enough in the first 5

This has the potential to be a good pitching matchup between Aaron Nola and Jordan Hicks. Last season, Nola had a 3.29 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP at home. After getting roughed up by the Braves in his first start this year, he has a 2.06 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP since. Hicks can rack up strikeouts in bunches, but he did battle side tightness in his last outing. Another concern with the Giants is that they are just 6-10 on the road. Look for Nola to lead the Phillies to a victory.

The Giants aren't going to get the same boost (at least we don't think) as they did on Thursday at Fenway Park, when Mike Yaz saw grandpa Yaz at the ballpark and promptly hit a homer in the 3-1 SF win. The Phils are another challenge entirely for SF at Citizens Bank Park, especially against Aaron Nola, who spun a 2.06 ERA in April when Philly won all five of his starts. As for Jordan Hicks, he's pitched in some bad luck on the Giants' side, allowing just 4 ER across 16 IP in his last three starts, but SF losing in each of those, and only 6-10 on the road this season. Play Phils on Run Line

Hopping on this one again, as I mentioned last time on the Early Edge, I think Jordan Hicks is a really solid pitcher, has some good strikeout stuff and should be able to strike out five batters in any lineup. Last time out against the Pirates, I really liked the spot for not only a bounce back performance but a big one, and Hicks delivered with nine strikeouts. I'm not in love with this matchup but I do believe the line should be at least 5.5 on him so I'll play the over. -115 on Draftkings!

Jordan Hicks has looked excellent in six starts for the San Francisco Giants and the only area he's been fairly quiet has been his strikeouts. If we look under the hood, he certainly qualifies as a positive regression candidate considering he is averaging the lowest K rate of his six year career, despite posting a healthy 10.2% SwStr% which is above his career average. He will face a tough Phillies lineup, however the Phillies have no shortage of aggressive hitters that are prone to strikeouts.

The Phils were off on Thursday so the bullpen is locked and loaded (that a good thing for them?) and no key regulars should sit Friday to open a homestand. Might not be the case for the Giants, who also used all their key relievers on Thursday in Boston. Converted SF reliever Jordan Hicks has been excellent but this is by far his toughest road test so far in 2024. Philly's Aaron Nola is 4-0 with a a 2.06 ERA in his past five.