Phils head to Atlanta for NL East clash
Baseball Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will close out the last portion of their current road trip with the first of three straight games against the NL East-rival Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
Philadelphia is 2 1/2 games ahead of the Florida Marlins and three games in front of the New York Mets for the division lead, and has won two in a row to improve to 3-3 on a nine-game trek. The Phillies are coming off a weekend series in Toronto and won the set with Sunday's 5-4 victory behind Chase Utley's go-ahead two-run triple that highlighted a four-run fourth inning.
Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz finished with an RBI apiece for the Phillies, who recorded their first series win since taking two of three against the Mets from June 9-11.
Phils veteran Jamie Moyer gave up four runs -- including three homers -- on five hits in five innings for the win. He walked two and struck out four to pick up only his third victory in his last 11 outings. Moyer passed Bob Gibson for 43rd on the all-time wins list with his 252nd.
"I made a number of bad pitches and the ones I made that were bad got hit hard," Moyer said on the team's official Web site.
Phils closer Brad Lidge posted his 14th save with a scoreless ninth, but did allow a hit and walked a batter to make things interesting. Lidge was making his first appearance in a save situation since returning from a sprained right knee that landed him on the 15-day disabled list.
Meanwhile, shortstop Jimmy Rollins is expected to be back in the lineup and bat leadoff against the Braves. Rollins hasn't recorded a hit since collecting three against Toronto on June 18. He was benched the last four games and is riding a five-game hitless streak.
Philadelphia, which won for just the fourth time in its last 15 tries, will send Joe Blanton to the mound on Tuesday. Blanton is 2-1 with a solid 2.75 earned run average over his past six starts, but is coming off a 7-1 loss at Tampa Bay the last time out on Wednesday.
Blanton pitched seven innings of two-run ball and struck out 10 Rays batters, while issuing a pair of walks. The righty, who is 3-1 in his last four decisions, is 4-4 with a 5.06 ERA in 14 outings this season.
Blanton also sports an 0-1 mark and a 9.64 ERA in three career starts against Atlanta. He is 0-1 in two starts versus Atlanta this season.
The Braves, who are five games behind the Phillies in the NL East race, ended a four-game slide and salvaged the finale of a three-game series versus the Boston Red Sox with Sunday's 2-1 victory behind youngster Tommy Hanson's six shutout innings. Hanson improved to 4-0, struck out two and walked a pair of hitters.
"Once I got out there and the adrenaline started pumping, I felt fine," said Hanson, who was battling a case of the flu. Hanson's last two wins have come against the New York Yankees and Boston.
Braves closer Mike Gonzalez allowed a run in the ninth, but managed to record his ninth save of the season.
Garret Anderson and Chipper Jones both homered for Atlanta, which is 3-4 on a 10-game homestand.
Taking the hill for the Braves Tuesday will be Derek Lowe, who will start in place of Kenshin Kawakami. Kawakami is being skipped in the rotation to allow his bruised neck to heal, while Lowe is 0-3 with a 12.34 earned run average over his last three starts.
Lowe is coming off a setback versus the Yankees on Thursday, when he allowed eight runs -- six earned -- and 11 hits in just three innings of an 11-7 setback. He fell to 7-6 in 16 starts and raised his ERA from 4.09 to 4.53 this season after the Yankees game.
The right-hander hopes to have the same success against the Phillies he had during a 4-1 victory on April 5 in South Philly. Lowe tossed eight shutout innings of two-hit ball, struck out four and allowed no walks that day to improve to 5-1 in 12 games (8 starts) against Philadelphia.
Atlanta leads the 2009 season series against Philadelphia by a 4-2 count, with all games played at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves have won six of the last eight matchups between the teams
Philadelphia went 14-4 against Atlanta a year ago, including a 9-0 mark at Turner Field.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of rookies face their respective opponents - and each other - for the first time tonight, when the Washington Nationals visit the Florida Marlins for the middle test of a three-game series at Land Shark Stadium. Th
<< Reds return home to face slumping D-Backs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Dan Haren looks for a measure of midseason
revenge tonight, when his Arizona Diamondbacks travel to Cincinnati for the
opener of a three-game series with the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Haren, a 16-game
<< Rays put win streak on the line in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays bested one of the best pitchers in the
majors last night and will try to duplicate that success Tuesday, when they
resume a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
The Rays knoc
<< Yankees host Mariners in the Bronx
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hard-throwing right-hander Joba Chamberlain tries again for
win No. 1 on his new home field tonight, when the New York Yankees host the
Seattle Mariners in the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Chamberlai
<< Indians send Lee to hill vs. White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Cliff Lee goes for two straight wins over Chicago and
three straight overall when his Cleveland Indians host the White Sox tonight
in the middle game of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
The American Leag
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Johnson, Giants vie for another win over reeling Cards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ageless lefty Randy Johnson seeks a third straight win and
a fifth in six decisions tonight, when the San Francisco Giants visit Busch
Stadium for game two of four against the host St. Louis Cardinals.
The Giants won the o
Seattle's Jaqua wins MLS Player of the Week >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Sounders FC forward Nate Jaqua claimed
Major League Soccer's Player of the Week award for Week 15.
Jaqua tallied two goals and an assist in Sunday's 3-0 victory over the Colorado
Rapids in front of mo
D.C. United releases Peters >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United has released defender Anthony
Peters. The 25-year old was originally signed by United in March, and made one
appearance in the U.S. Open Cup.
"We'd like to thank Anthony for his hard work an
Los Angeles clinches playoff berth >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Los Angeles Sol have become the
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The Sol's 4-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars Saturday, combined with the Saint
Louis Athleti
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
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