Phillies slam Sabathia, take 2-0 lead in NLDS
Baseball Betting Lines
10/02/2008 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino hit a grand slam off
CC Sabathia, and Brett Myers tossed seven strong innings as Philadelphia
downed Milwaukee, 5-2, in Game 2 of the teams' National League Division
Series.
The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series and moved one victory
away from winning their first playoff series since 1993. Game 3 is scheduled
for Saturday in Milwaukee.
It was Victorino's first career grand slam and the first postseason grand slam
in Phillies franchise history. Myers (1-0) gave up two runs on two hits and
three walks, while striking out four, for Philadelphia, which has won seven
straight against Milwaukee dating back to the regular season.
Myers also went 1-for-2 with a crucial walk that led to Victorino's homer.
Philadelphia got all its runs off Sabathia (0-1), who turned in his second-
shortest outing of the season. In 3 2/3 frames, he gave up five runs on six
hits and four walks, with five strikeouts.
Sabathia, who was going on short rest for the fourth straight time, went 3 1/3
innings in his third start of the season. Sabathia on Thursday gave up five
earned runs for the first time since an April 16 start against Detroit.
J.J. Hardy doubled and drove in a run for the Brewers, who are making their
first postseason appearance since 1982, but overcame an 0-2 series
deficit that postseason. Milwaukee lost the first two games of the best-of-
five American League Championship Series, but rebounded to win the final three
games against the California Angels.
Despite Myers' solid final line, he got into a jam in the first inning. With
one out, Ray Durham walked and Ryan Braun doubled to put runners in scoring
position. Myers then intentionally walked Prince Fielder before also walking
Hardy to force in a run.
However, the Phillies starter avoided further trouble by getting Corey Hart to
hit a grounder back to the mound, which Myers turned into an inning-ending
double play.
"We had them kind of on the ropes and (Myers had) thrown about 14 balls out of
the last 19 pitches he threw," Brewers manager Dale Sveum said. "So that's
just part of maturing, sometimes as a hitter, but Corey is a very aggressive
hitter, and unfortunately he hit a ground ball back to the pitcher and they
were able to get out of that inning, and obviously that was a turning point in
the ball game."
Sabathia managed to keep the Phillies scoreless in the first inning, despite
allowing a one-out double to Victorino. But the left-hander imploded in the
second frame.
Jayson Werth roped a one-out double to center and scored on Pedro Feliz's line
smash double down the third-base line to tie the game. After Carlos Ruiz's
groundout moved Feliz to third, Myers came to the plate, seemingly giving
Sabathia a way out of the inning.
Myers fell in an 0-2 hole in the count, only to take a slider for a ball, and
foul a pitch off. He took another slider low to even the count at 2-2 before
fouling off another Sabathia offering. Another ball low set the count full and
Myers walked on the next pitch.
"I know I'm a terrible hitter, but I really can't explain it," Myers said. "It
was like one of those freakish things that I was able to lay off some good
pitches that he made and able to extend his pitch count. And it's like one of
those things where baseball's weird like that to where you can have a guy that
pretty much can't hit a lick to go up there and battle a guy that's as good as
CC. And it's just part of the game."
The nine-pitch at-bat was the apparent turning point, as Sabathia loaded the
bases by walking Jimmy Rollins. Victorino batted next and drilled a high
breaking ball into the left field stands to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead.
"I said 'Did that really just happen?' That's more than anything, it was just
the excitement in the air," Victorino said. "Knowing that we got a little
cushion on a guy like CC to get an early lead."
Said Sabathia of the pitch: "It was a cutter. I threw it in and didn't get it
down, didn't bounce it, it was 0-2, 1-2, I don't know what the count was. I
know it was two strikes. And just didn't make the pitch. When I saw it leave,
I was just trying to keep the score right there where it was."
Sabathia got out of the inning without another run allowed, but got into more
trouble in the fourth. A walk to Chase Utley loaded the bases with two outs,
and Sabathia was removed for Mitch Stetter, who fanned Ryan Howard to end the
frame.
The Phillies went without a run the rest of the game, despite having at least
one runner in scoring position in each of the first six innings. But Myers
shut down the Brewers after the first inning, setting them down in order in
the second, third, fifth and sixth innings.
"Tonight I just tried to work down in the zone and go from there," Myers said.
"And I was able to do it in my past bullpens before this outing. I felt pretty
confident about going out there and locating fastballs and down in the zone."
In the seventh, Myers allowed a leadoff double to Hardy, who eventually scored
on Craig Counsell's groundout to make it a 5-2 game.
Philadelphia's bullpen, though, finished out the game. Ryan Madson and J.C.
Romero combined to throw a scoreless eighth, and Brad Lidge needed 12 pitches
in the ninth to earn his second save of the playoffs.
Game Notes
Myers saw 19 pitches in his two at-bats against Sabathia...Victorino finished
3-for-4 with a pair of doubles...Werth ended with a pair of doubles...Utley
and Howard combined to go 0-for-7 with six strikeouts...Braun finished 2-
for-4...Attendance was 46,208, the largest crowd ever at Citizens Bank Park.
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<< Phillies slam Sabbathia, take 2-0 lead in NLDS
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino hit a grand slam, and
Brett Myers tossed seven strong innings as Philadelphia downed Milwaukee, 5-2,
in Game 2 of the teams' National League Division Series.
The Phillies took a 2-0 l
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Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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