Myers tries to derail Phils' playoff hopes

Baseball Betting Lines

08/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An outstanding recent stretch has the Philadelphia Phillies in position for a possible fourth consecutive trip to the postseason. You can bet Brett Myers will be determined to stop that roll from continuing.

Myers will face his former team for the first time in an opposing uniform when the veteran hurler leads the Astros into Citizens Bank Park tonight for the opener of a four-game series with the red-hot Phillies.

A first-round selection by Philadelphia in the 1999 draft, Myers spent his first eight major league seasons with the Phillies and won 10 or more games five times during his tenure there. The team opted not to re-sign the right- hander following an injury-plagued 2009 campaign, however, with Myers instead inking a one-year deal with the Astros in January.

The move has paid dividends for Houston, as Myers has been both durable and consistent this season. The 30-year-old has posted a solid 3.11 earned run average over his 25 starts in 2010 and pitched at least six innings in every one of those outings, one shy of a club record set by Larry Dierker between June 20, 1969-April 17, 1970.

Myers was sharp once again in a home start against the New York Mets last Wednesday, yielding just two runs over seven frames in a no-decision. Five days earlier, he limited Pittsburgh to one run and struck out seven in seven innings despite not factoring in the final outcome of that contest as well.

During his time in Philadelphia, Myers compiled a 27-27 record with a 4.10 ERA in 96 appearances (67 starts) at Citizens Bank Park. He's just 2-7 on the road this year, however, and 11 of his 14 home runs allowed have come in visiting venues.

Myers will be taking on a Phillies squad that's won six of its last eight games and has amassed a stellar 19-4 record at home since July 8. The two-time reigning National League Champions are 4-2 thus far on a 10-game residency and come into this series off Sunday's 6-0 blanking of Washington.

A longtime Astro led the way for Philadelphia in yesterday's triumph, with ex- Houston ace Roy Oswalt surrendering just five hits and fanning eight Nationals hitters over the first seven innings. The three-time All-Star was making his fifth start since being acquired by the Astros in a blockbuster trade just prior to the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

"My mechanics have been a lot better and the ball has been coming out cleaner than when I first got here," said Oswalt, who improved to 3-1 as a member of the Phillies. "The guys got me a few runs early and it makes things a lot easier on me when they do that."

Placido Polanco knocked in runs in both the first and third innings to stake Oswalt to an early lead and finished 2-for-3 for Philadelphia. Wilson Valdez added a two-RBI single later on before Raul Ibanez tacked on a two-run homer in the seventh to close out the scoring.

The win gives the Phillies a two-game advantage on both St. Louis and San Francisco for the lead in the NL Wild Card race, while the team remained 2 1/2 games back of first-place Atlanta in the NL East standings after the Braves defeated the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Joe Blanton will attempt to keep Philadelphia winning when he opposes Myers in tonight's opener. The Phils have prevailed in four of the right-hander's last five starts, with Blanton having registered two victories and three no- decisions during that time period.

He was able to pick up a win in his last mound trip after holding San Francisco to two runs over 6 1/3 innings this past Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. The effort improved Blanton to 4-2 in 11 home starts this season.

The 29-year-old has also never lost in two previous encounters with the Astros, having gone 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in those games. The no-decision took place in Houston last September, with Blanton reached for three runs in six innings while matched up against Oswalt.

The Astros are in the midst of a 10-game road trip and dropped the first two tests of the trek before edging Florida by a 2-1 count on Sunday, with Hunter Pence's solo homer in the top of the eighth inning providing the difference.

Pence also drove in Houston's other run of the afternoon with a sacrifice fly that plated Michael Bourn, who collected two of the team's five hits for the game. His homer made a winner out of Wilton Lopez after the reliever tossed two scoreless innings upon taking over for starter Nelson Figueroa.

Figueroa, who began the season with the Phillies before being waived last month, gave up just one run on four hits and struck out seven over a six- inning, 98-pitch stint.

"If I throw 95 pitches that means I'm doing my job and keeping us in the ball game," Figueroa said afterward. "It was good to get rolling in the heat and try and make the innings as quick as possible."

Houston won six of eight meetings with the Phillies in 2009, but was swept by Philadelphia in a three-game set at Minute Maid Park back in April.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship

(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.

MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.

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