09/26/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Howard homered and drove in four runs, as Philadelphia doubled up the Washington Nationals, 8-4, on a night the Phillies reduced their magic number to one for winning their second straight NL East title.
Chase Utley finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored for the Phillies, who snapped a two-game skid and hold a two-game lead over New York in the division with two games remaining. The Mets lost to Florida, 6-1, on Friday. Jayson Werth registered two hits and scored twice, while Jimmy Rollins walked three times and scored a run.
Joe Blanton (4-0) gave up four runs -- one earned -- on five hits and a walk in six innings of work, with two strikeouts, to get the win.
Cristian Guzman had two hits and knocked in a run for the Nationals, who have dropped seven of their last eight games. Collin Balester (3-7) was rocked for seven runs on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings. Five relievers combined to limit the Phillies to one unearned run and three hits in 6 1/3 frames.
Howard's major league-leading 48th home run of the season staked Philadelphia to a 3-0 lead in the opening frame. After Rollins flied out to begin the inning, Werth and Utley stroked consecutive singles before Howard, making a strong push for a second NL MVP award, launched an 0-1 pitch over the center- field fence and into the Phils' bullpen.
Washington got on the board in the second. Elijah Dukes drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a passed ball and later scored on Luke Montz's two-out single. The Phillies, though, put four more runs on the board in the bottom of the second.
Greg Dobbs led off by slicing a double down the left field line and Rollins worked a key two-out walk. Werth hit a groundball to deep third that he legged out for an infield single, loading the bases for Utley, who smacked a three- run double off the top of the wall in left. Howard followed with an RBI double for a 7-1 Phillies advantage.
The Nationals scored a pair of runs in the fifth to narrow the deficit to four. With one away, Pete Orr reached first on Howard's fielding error and Roger Bernadina doubled before Emilio Bonifacio hit a sacrifice fly and Guzman lined a run-scoring single to right. Kory Casto's two-out blast in the sixth made it a 7-4 game. The umpires used instant replay to make sure the ball cleared the right-field fence before a fan dropped it onto the field.
Utley slapped a single off Mike Hinckley to start the seventh, swiped second, advanced to third on a fielder's choice and scored on a passed ball to round out the scoring.
Game Notes
Howard, who won the NL MVP award in 2006, leads the majors with 146 RBI...Howard has a team-record 32 RBI in the month of September, breaking Gary Matthews' mark of 31, set in 1981...Rollins set a career-high with his 47th stolen base...Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel was ejected in the ninth inning by home plate umpire Andy Fletcher...The Phillies are 9-4 in Blanton's 13 starts...The Phillies reached 90 wins for the 12th time in franchise history and for the first time since winning the NL pennant in 1993 (97-65)...The Nationals lost their 100th game, the first time the franchise has lost that many games since 1976...The Phils are 10-6 against the Nationals in 2008...Washington's John Lannan (9-14) and Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer (15-7) are slated to start on Saturday.
<< Blue Jays blank Orioles in shortened game
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Richmond got his first big league win
and Curtis Thigpen hit his first major league home run, as the Toronto Blue
Jays downed Baltimore, 3-0, in the rain-shortened opener of both clubs' final
series
<< Tigers' Polanco leaves with sprained ankle
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco left in
the first inning of Detroit's game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday with a
sprained ankle.
Polanco, who sat out Thursday's loss to the Kansas City Royals
<< Yankees' Rivera considering surgery
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees star closer Mariano Rivera
is considering whether to have surgery on his sore right shoulder in the
offseason.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi downplayed the injury, however.
"This isn't
<< Reds' Volquez scratched from start in season finale
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez was
scratched from his scheduled start Sunday in the team's season finale against
the St. Louis Cardinals due to left knee tendinitis.
Volquez was sent back to Cinc
Erstad lifts Astros over Braves >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darin Erstad clubbed a solo home run with one
out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Houston Astros to a 5-4 win
over the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a three-game set at Minute Maid Park.
Mich
Cardinals blow lead but top Reds with Glaus' sac fly >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus' sacrifice fly in the bottom of
the ninth gave the St. Louis Cardinals a dramatic 7-6 win over the Cincinnati
Reds, in the opener of both clubs' final series of the season, a three-game
set at
Streaking Brewers down Cubs, move into wild card lead >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks' three-run homer in the seventh
inning broke open a one-run game and helped the Milwaukee Brewers take sole
possession of the National League wild card spot with a 5-1 victory over the
NL Cent
Davies, Royals stay hot in win over Minnesota >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Davies hurled six solid innings, and
Billy Butler and Mike Aviles both homered as Kansas City stunned Minnesota,
8-1, in the opener of a three-game at the Metrodome.
The Twins received some help,
MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?
Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite. Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight. With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites. As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).
Midwest
#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler
The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April. Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT. After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games. Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season. As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers. Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS). Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field. With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.
#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV
As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year. If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season. As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well. This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons. Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late. There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games. It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.
East
#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown
“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season. Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU. They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games. With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field. Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense. Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc. The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range. Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.
#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC
The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country. Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times. Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter. UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen. UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS. An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games. This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS. USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types. An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough. USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS. They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12. When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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