Phillies try to extend Brewers' home troubles
Baseball Betting Lines
05/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the back end of Philadelphia's bullpen a little banged up, the Phillies might need to rely on their starting pitchers some more over the next few weeks.
Cole Hamels, arguably the club's least consistent starter this year, will try to pitch the Phillies to a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, who look to halt a seven-game skid at Miller Park tonight.
Having won the first two games of this set, the Phillies own the best record in the National League at 22-13, giving them a three-game edge over the second-place Nationals in the NL East. Philadelphia has won eight of its last 10 and saw reliever Jose Contreras earn his first career save in yesterday's 10-6 victory.
Contreras figures to be in line for a few more saves over the next few weeks. Closer Brad Lidge was placed on the 15-day-disabled list after Saturday's game due to elbow inflammation, while Ryan Madson, who has filled in before when Lidge was hurt, is already on the DL due to surgery on his right toe.
Of course, a high-scoring offense could limit how many times the Phillies need to go to their closer. The club has scored 36 runs over its last five games, winning four of them.
Philadelphia's Shane Victorino fell a triple shy of the cycle on Saturday, going 3-for-6 with a homer, four RBI and two runs scored. Paul Hoover added three hits, two RBI and three runs scored, while Placido Polanco went 4-for-6 with an RBI.
That offensive onslaught allowed Joe Blanton to earn his first victory of the season after he allowed five runs over seven innings. He survived the Brewers hitting three homers for a second straight game, as Corey Hart hit a three-run homer off him and both Prince Fielder and Alcides Escobar added solo shots.
"This was Blanton's first win of the year and I predict if he keeps pitching the way he does he will win a lot more," said Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel.
Chris Narveson took the loss after yielding four runs over 5 2/3 innings and 130 pitches, the most by any one hurler in the majors this year. Milwaukee was swept in three games at Miller Park by Atlanta prior to this series and is just 4-13 at home this season.
"It makes it impossible to fight back when you give up as many runs a game as we do," said Milwaukee manager Ken Macha. "We gotta start winning again and getting the runs against us down is the key."
That might be tough tonight because of scheduled starter Doug Davis, who will try to improve on his 1-4 mark and 7.56 ERA this year.
The 34-year-old left-hander took the loss in his last start on Monday versus the Braves, giving up six runs on three hits and a season-high six walks over 5 2/3 innings. However, only half of those runs were earned because of a two- out error by the Brewers.
Davis is 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA in eight career starts versus the Phillies.
The Phillies will aim for their first sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee since a three-game series from Aug. 20-22, 2004. They did sweep the Brew Crew at home from Sept. 11-14, 2008 in four games.
Tonight, Philadelphia turns to Hamels, who has frustrated the Phillies this year with inconsistency, a trend that highlighted his last two starts.
Hamels, who is 3-2 with a 4.53 earned run average this year, held the Cardinals to just one run over eight innings on May 4 and did not factor into the decision of his team's 2-1 win. However, he failed to build off that start on Sunday versus the Braves, giving up three runs on eight hits and four walks over just five innings. The southpaw did get the win, however.
Hamels, 26, has made six starts versus the Brewers in his career and is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA.
The Phillies and Brewers split four games in Milwaukee last year, but Philadelphia is 14-8 in the series since 2007 and knocked the Brew Crew out of the NLDS in 2008.
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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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