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08/15/2010 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Kendrick pitched 6 2/3 strong innings, allowing just one run, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets, 3-1, in a rain-soaked rubber match of a three-game set at Citi Field.
Kendrick (8-5) gave up six hits and walked just one batter while fanning four for the Phillies, who have won 18 of their last 23 games to climb into a tie atop the wild card standings with the San Francisco Giants, who lost earlier Sunday. Philadelphia will start a three-game set with San Francisco on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park.
Shane Victorino went 3-for-5 with a stolen base, an RBI and a run scored for the Phillies, while Jayson Werth ended with two hits and scored once. Brad Lidge earned his 16th save.
Jose Reyes homered for the Mets' only run, and New York has now dropped 10 of its last 13 series (2-10-1). The Mets fell to 10-19 since the All-Star break.
Mike Pelfrey (11-7), coming off an outing in which he shut out the Rockies for seven innings, gave up three runs on seven hits in seven frames to take the loss.
Jimmy Rollins used his legs to help the Phillies produce the game's first run in the third.
Rollins, who came into the game with 25 consecutive successful stolen base attempts -- the longest active streak in the majors, got on base with a two- out bloop single to left. With Victorino at the plate, Rollins swiped both second and third, and Victorino grounded an RBI double just inside the right field line for a 1-0 lead.
The Mets answered quickly on Reyes' blast that hit the right field foul pole leading off the home third, tying the score.
Philadelphia placed a runner at third with two outs in the fourth, but Luis Castillo made a diving grab on Wilson Valdez's ground ball, preventing the go- ahead run.
The Mets couldn't prevent the go-ahead run in the fifth, however, as the Phillies used some more two-out hitting.
With two outs and nobody on, Victorino singled softly to center. He stole his 22nd base of the season with Placido Polanco at the plate, and Polanco promptly sent a grounder up the middle to plate Victorino without a throw for a 2-1 advantage.
The visitors struck for another run in the sixth. Werth led off with a triple, he grounded a ball down the right field line that right fielder Angel Pagan had a difficult time handling. Two batters later, Carlos Ruiz singled past the drawn-in third baseman David Wright to easily plate Werth for a two-run edge.
Meanwhile, Kendrick settled down to dominate. Following Reyes' home run, he allowed just two baserunners -- a fifth-inning bunt single by Castillo. He exited after walking Castillo with two outs in the seventh with pinch-hitter Jeff Francoeur coming up.
With Francoeur's career 9-for-22 mark against Kendrick, the Phillies opted for Chad Durbin, who induced a deep fly out from Francoeur to preserve the 3-1 lead. Francoeur is now 0-for-15 against Durbin in his career.
Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless eighth, working around a two-out walk to David Wright. He struck out Carlos Beltran to end the frame and bridge the gap to Lidge, who set down the Mets in order in the ninth to lock up the win.
Game Notes
During the Phillies' strong 23-game run, their starting pitchers have an ERA of 2.78...Philadelphia moved to 10-3 in August...The season series is tied, 6-6...Mets starters have a 1.44 ERA in their last eight games, but have gone just 4-4 in that stretch...The Phillies have won six of their last seven road games...Philadelphia is 44-11 when scoring first...Lidge is 16-for-16 in career save opportunities against the Mets...New York is 0-46 when trailing after eight innings, one of two major league teams without a win in that category. The Cubs are the other.
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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