Phillies try to get on track against hosting Cardinals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This current road trip for the Philadelphia Phillies has been a complete disaster and they'll try to regroup tonight in the third installment of a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals from Busch Stadium.

The Phillies have dropped three in a row and are 1-5 on an eight-game trek through Chicago and St. Louis. After losing three of four meetings with the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the Phillies have dropped the first two contests of this set in the Gateway City.

In Tuesday's 7-1 loss, Phillies starter Jamie Moyer pitched only one inning before being removed due to a left elbow strain. Moyer is expected to land on the disabled list and allowed two hits in the first before giving way to youngster Drew Carpenter, who absorbed the loss for yielding three runs and five hits in three innings. Carpenter was brought up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley after the club optioned starter Kyle Kendrick to the Iron Pigs yesterday afternoon.

Danys Baez also gave up three runs in relief, while Shane Victorino drove in the lone run for the Phillies, who are seven games behind Atlanta for the top spot on the NL East standings.

"We're positive, but it's hard to keep a lot of spirit," Phils manager Charlie Manuel said on the team's site. "It seems like we're always behind in the game, and we always have to try to come back. Every time we get somebody on base, I know that we're trying too hard to knock them in."

Placido Polanco and Jayson Werth both had two hits in defeat.

Phillies starter Joe Blanton has won his last two decisions but hasn't figured into the outcome in any of his last four starts. Blanton will take the mound tonight and hopes to build off a solid performance his last time out in a 4-3 road loss against the Chicago Cubs last Thursday.

Blanton lasted seven innings at Wrigley Field and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight batters. He remained at 3-5 in 14 starts and slightly lowered his ERA from 6.41 to 6.21.

The bulky right-hander, who is just 1-3 in seven road starts, lost to the Cardinals in his 2010 debut on May 3 in a 6-3 setback. Blanton gave up four runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings, falling to 3-1 in four career starts against the Cardinals.

St. Louis has ripped off seven straight wins and hasn't won eight in a row since late in the 2004 campaign, when it was swept by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

The Cardinals, who lead the NL Central by a half-game ahead of Cincinnati, improved to 6-0 on their eight-game homestand versus the Dodgers and Phillies. They got another strong performance from ace Chris Carpenter last night, as he delivered eight innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts.

"I had good command of my sinkerball near the bottom of the strike zone," said Carpenter. "I also threw some good curveballs and kept them off-balanced."

Matt Holliday connected on a three-run homer, while Randy Winn added a two-run shot in the victory. Winn also went deep in Monday's win in which the Cardinals belted four homers en route to an 8-4 victory. Since June 18th Holliday owns 11 homers and 31 RBI.

The Cardinals hope that Jaime Garcia can keep his promising season intact when he gets the call tonight. Garcia is 5-2 in his past seven decisions, but hasn't factored in the outcome over his previous two trips to the bump.

Garcia tossed just 3 1/3 innings in an 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers last Thursday and yielded two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. He is 8-4 in 18 starts with a 2.27 ERA and 3-1 in eight outings at Busch Stadium.

The left-hander beat the Phillies back on May 3 at Citizens Bank Park with six innings of one-run ball and six K's in a 6-3 triumph. Garcia is 1-1 in three games (1 start) against Philadelphia.

The Phillies had a four-game winning streak in the Gateway City come to an end Monday night.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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