Ailing Phils go for second straight win over Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

08/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies were still able to slug their way to a series-opening victory over the Florida Marlins on Tuesday despite placing slugger Ryan Howard on the disabled list prior to the contest.

Florida hopes Philadelphia's luck runs out this evening at Sun Life Stadium, where Anibal Sanchez takes the hill for the first time since throwing a gem his last time out.

Sanchez gets the call for game two of this three-game series nearly a week after throwing the second shutout of his career in San Francisco last Thursday. The right-hander held the Giants to just one hit and a walk in the 5-0 victory, his first blanking since a no-hitter on Sept. 6, 2006 against the Diamondbacks.

"Everything was working for [Sanchez]," said Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez. "He had command of all his pitches, so we knew something good was going to happen [Thursday]."

Sanchez allowed just a bloop single in the fifth inning and also struck out eight batters while improving to 8-6 with a 3.33 earned run average this season.

The 26-year-old is 3-5 with a 4.93 ERA in nine career starts versus the Phillies, including 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA in two outings this year. He hosted the club on May 30 and got the win with 6 2/3 scoreless innings of three-hit ball.

Sanchez will try to make pitching the highlight of this series for a second straight night. In Tuesday's opener, Roy Halladay took the mound at Sun Life Stadium for the first time since his perfect game on May 29, and though his bid for another shot at perfection ended with a second-inning homer by Dan Uggla, he still threw seven innings of one-run, five-hit ball in a 6-1 Philadelphia victory.

"He just comes at you and throws strikes," said Marlins' rookie outfielder Logan Morrison about Halladay. "He splits the plate with a two-seamer and a cutter. With those two pitches alone and the command that he has, it's hard to tell what's coming next. You can't think 'he's gonna throw a two-seamer here' or 'he's gonna throw a cutter here' because if you guess wrong, he's gonna blow you up."

The Phillies got back-to-back homers from Carlos Ruiz and Ben Francisco in the second inning to pace the offense. Ruiz ended with four hits and Francisco had three in Philadelphia's 10th victory in its last 12 games, which has moved the club to within two games of first-place Atlanta in the National League East.

The Phils won despite Howard (left ankle sprain) joining Chase Utley (right thumb) and Shane Victorino (left abdominal strain) on the DL prior to the game.

That didn't make things easier for Florida starter Sean West, who was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans and allowed five runs -- four earned -- on nine hits over five frames in his season debut.

Uggla went 3-for-4 for the Marlins, who were coming off a 4-3 road trip and lost their second straight.

The Phillies tonight go with Kyle Kendrick, who has pitched well in two starts since getting tagged for seven runs in five innings of a loss to St. Louis on July 19. He beat the Rockies five days later with seven innings of one-run ball, then held the Diamondbacks to just a run and four hits while walking three over 6 1/3 frames of a no-decision on Thursday.

The 25-year-old righty is 6-4 with a 4.44 ERA this year and 3-2 with a 5.83 ERA in 11 career starts versus the Marlins, seven of those starts. He is 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in two outings this season, allowing just two unearned runs over six innings of a victory at Florida on May 28.

These two clubs entered this series having split 26 total meetings since 2009. The Phillies won two of three in Florida in late May and have won 12 of the last 15 meetings at Sun Life Stadium.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

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