Who is the best everyday player on the San Diego Padres? Hint: It's not Manny Machado.

In my view it's clearly rookie shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who in 84 games is leading the Padres in batting with a .317 average, has smacked 22 homers, driven in 53 runs, scored 61 runs and stolen 16 bases.

The dynamic rookie, though, injured his back against the Rays this past Tuesday and isn't expected to play.

That's a big blow for the Padres. It's one of several reasons why I'm perplexed seeing this opening line. The Phillies should be strong home favorites against the Padres here. But they are not. So I'm getting involved backing Philadelphia

The pitching matchup is Chris Paddack versus Vince Velasquez. Paddack has a 3.95 road ERA compared to a 2.53 home ERA. San Diego is 2-6 in his last eight road starts. Velasquez has been pitching better. He's allowed seven earned runs in his past four starts with 21 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings during this span.

The Phillies are the superior offensive team. They are averaging seven runs in their last four games and they have also bolstered their bullpen.

The Padres have dropped nine of their past 13 away contests. San Diego has a weak history, too, when playing in Philadelphia losing 13 of the last 18 times.

(Editor's note: Stephen Nover is 15-8 this month on his premium/free baseball plays, including cashing seven underdog winners. Don't miss Stephen's strongest play this week, which goes today and is guaranteed to win!)