First-place Phils close out hard-fought set with Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't easy, but the Philadelphia Phillies now lead the National League East for the first time since late May.

Cole Hamels will try to keep his squad there as he aims for a third straight victory in the finale of a four-game series with the Florida Marlins tonight at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies posted an 8-7 victory over the Marlins last night, and coupled with a Braves loss to Pittsburgh, moved a half-game past Atlanta for the top spot in the division. Philadelphia hadn't owned sole possession of first place since May 30.

Philadelphia trailed Atlanta by seven games for that spot on July 21, but have gone an MLB-leading 32-14 since.

"It's always good to be in first place. That's the only way to live," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

The Phillies built a 7-4 advantage over the Marlins thanks in part to homers from Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, but a sloppy top of the eighth inning allowed the Marlins to tie things.

However, Victorino singled to start the home half of the eighth, stole second and then scored on Placido Polanco's single with two outs.

Ryan Madson, who allowed the game-tying run to score on a wild pitch in the eighth, locked down the final three outs for the win, the Phillies' seventh in nine games.

Mike Stanton led off Florida's three-run eighth with a homer, his third in as many games, while Brad Davis made it a one-run game when he scored on Jayson Werth's throwing error. Emilio Bonifacio later tied things on Madson's wild pitch after previously getting to third on a balk.

Florida has lost two straight since winning five of six.

"We came back. They came back. It was one of those games," Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said.

Hamels comes into this start on a bit of a roll. The 26-year-old has won back- to-back starts and thrown 15 scoreless innings since an 0-3 stretch over his previous eight starts that featured a solid 2.83 ERA.

Hamels hurled eight innings of four-hit ball to beat San Diego on Aug. 29, then limited Milwaukee to three hits and three walks over seven frames on Friday, striking out seven to improve to 9-10 with a 3.18 ERA this year.

The southpaw, who has allowed one run or fewer in seven of his last 11 starts, lost his only previous start this year versus the Marlins, back on April 18, despite allowing just two runs over eight innings. He is 2-7 with a 4.26 ERA lifetime versus them.

The Marlins go with lefty Andrew Miller, who has allowed one run or less in three of his four outings this year, including two starts. He beat the Braves on Friday, holding them to just a run on seven hits and three walks over five innings while striking out six.

The 25-year-old picked up his first win since July 4, 2009 and is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA this year. He is 0-3 with a 5.16 ERA in 10 career games versus the Phillies, including five starts.

The Phillies have won five of their last six over the Marlins and lead the season series 9-5.

Cashbetting Baseball Betting News


<< FCS championship game tickets to go on sale
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tickets to 2010 Football Championship Subdivision title game will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on Monday, Sept. 13. The championship game will be played Jan. 7, 2011 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco. Tickets will be av

<< Padres go for sweep of LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres were in serious danger of falling out of first place in the National League's West Division, but a couple of games against the fading Los Angeles Dodgers seems to have gotten the surprising squad back on

<< Rockies continue late playoff push against Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the Colorado Rockies making a belated push for a playoff spot, Carlos Gonzalez has been enhancing his credentials for a possible National League MVP Award with his performance over the past few weeks. Gonzalez puts a

<< Twins close out homestand with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins will close out another successful home stand this evening, when the American League Central leaders take aim at a series sweep of the Kansas City Royals at Target Field. The Twins have gone 7-1 thus far

<< Rangers hope to lasso win over Jays up north
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers are doing their best to give away the lead in the American League West. Luckily for them, though, nobody else seems to want it. Tonight, the Rangers try to snap a five-game losing streak when they co

Struggling Braves turn to Lowe in finale with Pirates >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates sure have been enjoying their role of spoiler in this series and are now in position to sweep the Atlanta Braves for the first time in over 16 years. To do that they will have to solve Derek Lowe, wh

Tigers battle Bulldogs in SEC action >>
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC action begins on Thursday in Starkville as the Mississippi State Bulldogs welcome the 21st-ranked Auburn Tigers to town. Auburn opened its season last weekend with a 52-26 victory over Arkansas State.

Ranked SEC foes lock horns in Columbia >>
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Richt leads his 22nd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs into an SEC battle with Steve Spurrier's 24th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia this weekend. "Our guys are focused on South Carolina right now," sai

LSU visits Vanderbilt in SEC lidlifter >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vanderbilt Commodores are coming off a highly-disappointing week-one loss, and they will open SEC play on Saturday against the 19th-ranked LSU Tigers, who are fresh off a drama-filled victory. LSU took on

Hurricanes blow into Columbus to battle Buckeyes >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A much-anticipated matchup between the second- ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the 12th-ranked Miami-Florida Hurricanes will ensue in Columbus on Saturday afternoon. As expected, Miami cruised to victory over F

Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.

Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.

Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
--------------------------------------------------

Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&amp;M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6

For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards