Phils eye first place in doubleheader with Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even when Roy Oswalt is off his game, he is still pretty darn good. The Philadelphia Phillies pitcher might get a chance tonight to put his team back into sole possession of first place in the National League East.

Set to pitch the back end of today's day/night doubleheader versus the Florida Marlins, Oswalt will try to win his fifth consecutive decision as Philadelphia kicks off a four-game set against Florida at Citizens Bank Park.

Oswalt was acquired from the Astros prior to the non-waiver trade deadline to boost a starting rotation that already features Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. The Phillies, who enter this set one game back of first-place Atlanta, hoped the acquisition of the three-time All-Star would help guide the club to a fourth straight NL East title and third straight NL pennant.

Philadelphia hasn't been in sole possession of first place since May 30, a position it hopes to hold after tonight if it can sweep this doubleheader and the Braves lose at Pittsburgh.

Though Oswalt was roughed up for a loss in his Phillies debut in late July, he is 4-0 with a 1.30 earned run average in six starts since and is coming off a victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday. The 33-year-old held Los Angeles to just a hit over 6 1/3 innings, but did walk six while striking out the same number.

"I was a little wild and had no command of my fastball," Oswalt said after that game. When I got in trouble I went with the breaking ball. That's the advantage of having four pitches -- when one isn't working you can go to another one. I was able to put enough movement on the ball to keep them off- balance."

The right-hander, who has allowed just one run over his last 21 1/3 innings, is 10-13 with a 3.01 ERA in 27 combined starts in 2010 and 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his three starts at Citizens Bank Park this season.

Oswalt did face the Marlins in a Phillies uniform on Aug. 5 and got a no- decision after yielding two runs over 6 1/3 innings. He is 6-4 with a 3.66 ERA in 13 career starts against Florida.

Florida will counter Oswalt with Anibal Sanchez, who has also pitched well as of late. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA over his last three starts and after consecutive victories, is coming off a no-decision versus Washington on Tuesday despite seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball. Sanchez also struck out seven to just one walk.

The 26-year-old is 11-8 with a 3.14 ERA this year, matching a career high for wins, and 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA in three starts versus the Phillies in 2010. Sanchez gave up five runs over six innings in his last outing at Philadelphia, getting a loss on April 16.

Today's doubleheader was made necessary when the middle contest of a slated three-game set in Philadelphia on June 9 was postponed. The first meeting between the two teams today is expected to feature a pair of pitchers making their first major league starts.

Going for Florida is Adalberto Mendez, who is making his MLB debut after pitching in the minors since 2003. The 28-year-old went 0-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 12 relief outings this year with Double-A Jacksonville before moving up a level to New Orleans, where Mendez went 5-4 with a 4.14 ERA in 28 games, including nine starts.

"He's a power pitcher, who can throw between 93 and 95 [mph]," Marlins interim manager Edwin Rodriguez told Florida's website of the righty he managed in the minors. "He's got an average changeup and slider."

Though Vance Worley is expected to make his first start in the day game for the Phillies, the third-round pick in 2008 did get his first taste of the majors back on July 24, striking out two over a perfect inning of relief versus Colorado.

The 22-year-old righty went 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 19 starts with Double-A Reading this year and 1-3 with a 3.77 ERA in eight starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Worley will try to help the Phillies get back in the win column after they failed to notch a three-game sweep of the Brewers on Sunday, falling 6-2 to snap a five-game winning streak.

Carlos Ruiz drove in both Philadelphia runs with a double in the second inning and Kyle Kendrick allowed five runs over just four innings as the Phils suffered just their second loss in 10 games. They now lead the NL Wild Card race by just two games over San Francisco after the Giants defeated Los Angeles last night.

The Marlins kept the Phillies' deficit for first place in the NL East at one after knocking off the Braves, 7-6, in 10 innings on Sunday to take two of three in the series.

Emilio Bonifacio led off the 10th inning with a triple, but a foul ball during his at-bat struck teammate Logan Morrison in the left cheek. Morrison was 3- for-4 with a pair of doubles, a triple, an RBI and two runs scored, but was unable to bat. Instead, Scott Cousins' drove in Bonifacio for the winning run with a single, the first hit of his big league career, for Florida's fourth victory in five games.

"I don't think I had time to really put pressure on myself," Cousins said. "I don't know if anyone really expected much out of me in that situation, but I did and hopefully the rest of the team did, and fortunately I was able to get the job done."

Hanley Ramirez clubbed a two-run homer and drove in three runs. The Florida shortstop is batting a scorching .512 (22-for-43) with four homers and 12 RBI over a 12-game hitting streak and is a career .400 hitter (10- for-25) off Oswalt with a pair of homers and five RBI.

The Phillies notched a three-game sweep in Miami the last time these clubs met and own a 7-4 edge in the season series.

Pokerbattel Baseball Betting News

<< The biggest threat to the U.S. Ryder Cup team
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While I was busy searching for the best line to describe Miguel Angel Jimenez, someone I don't know beat me to it. In the Internet age, it isn't hard to believe how it happened. Sports Illustrated writer Alan Shipnuck po

<< Leinart finds new home with Texans
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Texans have agreed to a one-year contract with quarterback Matt Leinart, according to the player's agent. The Houston Chronicle cited Leinart's agent, Tom Condon, as confirming the move, which comes

<< Proud powers get early test on rebuilding efforts
Michigan-Notre Dame seems so last century now.The game burnished reputations, showcased a handful of top NFL draft picks and often signaled whether either Midwestern power was likely to land a spot in the national championship picture. But the meeti

<< Arkansas sharp in opener, but far from perfect
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -If this was Ryan Mallett's idea of a so-so performance, then No. 17 Arkansas has high expectations indeed.Mallett completed 21 of 24 passes Saturday night, leading the Razorbacks over Tennessee Tech 44-3. He threw for 301 ya

<< Cowboys roll in offensive coordinator's debut
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -Oklahoma State uber-booster Boone Pickens spoke for most fans of the Cowboys before their season opener Saturday night against Washington State.``I'm anxious to see what we've got in the way of an offense,'' Pickens said, not

Mets resume rough road trip in Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After breaking out of a prolonged slump with four solid starts, New York Mets hurler Mike Pelfrey fell back into his struggling ways last time out. That is sort of how his team has been all season long. Pelfrey will try

Braves head to Pittsburgh for key set with Bucs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A loss today could push the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves out of first place for the first time since May 30. They probably couldn't be happier to see the Pittsburgh Pirates. Atlanta aims to maintain its ed

Twins aim to extend win streak versus Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Minnesota Twins will attempt to extend their current winning streak to four games when the American League Central front-runners take on a team they've had plenty of success against this season, the Kansas City Royals, t

Angels send Haren to the hill for matchup with Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-season acquisition Dan Haren makes the ninth start in a so-far unsuccessful stint with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim tonight when they host the Cleveland Indians to begin a three-game series at Angel Stadium. A 14-g

Hunter steps in for ailing Lee in Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Hunter steps in for the ailing Cliff Lee this afternoon when the Texas Rangers open a four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. The original plan was to have Lee get an extra day of rest because o

Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.

NFL Football Office Pools : NFL Football Contests

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules

Welcome to our free football office pool page. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

Football Pickem Pools: Your basic office pool format, where you pick the winner of each game, either against the spread or straight up. Spice up your pool by using confidence ranks, key picks, and other options. Pick 5 pools available. You can print NFL Football Office Pools here. Custom ranks available. Custom point spreads. Use Pro and/or College games, even D1AA games can be included. Many many other options.

Football Survivor Pools: Also known as Knockout, Suicide, Eliminator, Survival and Loser pools. Pick one team each week. If they win you advance to the next round. If they lose, you're out. The catch: You can only pick a team once. Many options like Pick a Team Only [Once,Twice,Unlimited], [1,2,3,4,5] Strikes and You're Out, Double Picks, Bye Weeks, Alias Entries and more. Very easy to set up and manage.

Football Share Pools: Pick college and/or pro football game winners using Vegas odds in our own unique Share Pool format. Accumulate points by picking pointspread and over/under winners. Risk as many points as you want on any game. The person with the most points (shares) at the end wins. Perfect for the Playoffs and Bowl Seasons.

Fantasy Football Pools: Fantasy football pool managers love our easy to use interface and custom settings. Points and head to head leagues, custom points, offline drafts, live scoring, waiver wire, trades and more. Live customer service by email or phone. $50 flat fee.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.