10/10/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino and the hot-hitting Brett Myers combined to drive in seven runs, as the Philadelphia Phillies downed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-5, in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
Myers (2-0) gave up five runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts over five innings to get the win for the Phillies, who lead the best-of-seven series two games to none. The right-hander came up huge at the plate, collecting three hits and three runs batted in. Myers had only four hits and one RBI during the regular season.
Brad Lidge worked out of trouble in the ninth to earn his second save of the series and fourth of the postseason.
Greg Dobbs went 2-for-3 and scored twice for the Phillies, who scored four times in both the second and third innings.
Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel managed with a heavy heart, learning that his mother, June, had passed away Friday morning. She was 87.
Manny Ramirez clubbed a three-run homer for the Dodgers, who left 11 men on base, including a pair of runners in the ninth.
Chad Billingsley (1-1) took the loss after he was rocked for eight runs -- seven earned -- on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. James McDonald allowed two hits and fanned five over 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
The series shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Sunday. Philadelphia will send 45-year-old Jamie Moyer to the mound and Los Angeles will counter with Hiroki Kuroda.
The Phillies trailed in the opener, but rallied on home runs by Chase Utley and Pat Burrell to win 3-2. Philadelphia jumped out to an 8-2 lead in Game 2, but Los Angeles closed the gap to three in the fourth on Ramirez's 27th career postseason home run, the most all-time in league history. With the bases vacant and two gone, Rafael Furcal struck out but advanced to first on a wild pitch. Russell Martin kept it going with a single and Ramirez, who tied Bernie Williams (41) for most games played in the outfield in LCS play, sent a pitch sailing into the flower bed beyond the wall in left field.
J.C. Romero issued a two-out walk to Los Angeles' Matt Kemp in the seventh. Ryan Madson came on from the Philadelphia bullpen and promptly served up a base hit to Nomar Garciaparra, pinch-hitting for McDonald. Casey Blake then hit a deep fly ball, and Victorino made a leaping catch against the wall in center to preserve the three-run lead.
Madson worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning, striking out a pair, and handed the ball over to Lidge in the ninth. Lidge walked Ramirez to begin the frame, then fanned Andre Ethier. After James Loney drew a walk, Lidge struck out Kemp and Garciaparra, on three consecutive sliders, to end the game.
Los Angeles drew first blood in the top of the second. Myers allowed a grounder through the right side to Ethier and then a long line drive to Loney that bounced off the top of the wall in right for a double. After Kemp went down swinging, Blake DeWitt grounded out to score Ethier. Myers opted to intentionally walk Blake to bring up Billingsley, who ended the inning by lining out to Jayson Werth in right.
The bottom of the Phillies lineup then spearheaded a two-out, four-run surge in the home half. Dobbs reached on a broken-bat single to center to prolong the frame and Carlos Ruiz followed with an RBI double that rolled all the way to the wall in left-center. Myers, who put together a memorable at-bat against CC Sabathia in Game 2 of the NLDS, then punched a run-scoring single to center.
Jimmy Rollins continued the assault with a chopper back up the middle, and Kemp's fielding error allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Victorino then slapped a two-run single to center for a 4-1 Phillies lead.
The Dodgers got a run back in their next turn at the plate on Loney's RBI single and were bidding for more, but Myers fanned DeWitt to escape a bases- loaded jam.
Philadelphia tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the third. The Phillies loaded the bases with no outs on hits by Burrell and Werth and a free pass to Dobbs. Two batters later, Myers drove in a pair by ripping a single past a diving Loney at first. Chan Ho Park then replaced a rattled Billingsley and struck out Rollins before Victorino hit a two-run triple to right-center to give the Phillies an 8-2 lead.
Game Notes
These clubs are meeting in the LCS for the fourth time. The Dodgers won in 1977 and '78, while the Phils emerged victorious in 1983...Myers became the first Phillies pitcher ever to win Game 2 of two playoff series in the same season...Rollins struck out four times...Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard went 0-for-4 with a walk. He's 2-for-19 in the playoffs...Burrell celebrated his 32nd birthday.
<< Saints' Colston questionable, Shockey doubtful for Sunday
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans star wide receiver Marques
Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey are close to returning to the playing
field as each have not been officially ruled out for Sunday's home game
against
<< Bolts' Chambers doubtful for Sunday
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Chargers wide receiver Chris
Chambers is listed as doubtful for Sunday's pivotal home matchup with the New
England Patriots with a sprained ankle.
Chambers was injured in last Sunday's 17-1
<< Clemson looks to new QB after mediocre start
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Clemson Tigers have not lived up to their
No. 9 preseason ranking and will look to get a spark from red-shirt freshman
Willy Korn, who head coach Tommy Bowden named as the starting quarterback for
the Oct
<< Three Dolphins fined for TD celebration dance
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown, and
linemen Ikechuku Ndukwe and Vernon Carey were each fined $10,000 by the NFL on
Friday.
The penalty came down from the league for an end zone dance the trio perfor
Dubinsky leads Rangers past Blackhawks >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Dubinsky scored and had two assists,
and the Rangers won their official home opener, 4-2, over the Chicago
Blackhawks.
Aaron Voros and Nikolai Zherdev each had a goal and an assist for Ne
Brodeur sharp as Devils edge Isles in opener >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrik Elias scored the eventual game-winner
and Martin Brodeur was his usual stingy self as the New Jersey Devils came
away with a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders in the season opener for
both cl
Kim leads Longs Drugs by one; Ochoa lurking two back >>
Danville, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-Kyung Kim carded a three-under 69 in cold,
windy conditions Friday to move into the lead after two rounds of the Longs
Drugs Challenge at Blackhawk Country Club.
Kim completed the first 36 holes at eigh
'Canes earn season-opening win over Panthers >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carolina got goals from six different players
and erased an early two-goal deficit with a 6-4 win over the Florida Panthers
in a Southeast Division battle and the regular-season opener for both squads
from th
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
MySportsbook.com, Online Sportsbook and Casino, is celebrating our 9th football season online since our launch in 1997. MySportsbook.com has experienced exponential growth, having taken over $8 billion in Sports and Casino Wagers since we opened our doors.
This year we will accept over $3 billion in wagers. Tens of thousands of winning wagers are created daily for the 300,000 people that have joined our website. In August of 2005, MySportsbook.com was acquired by Sportingbet, a UK company which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Combined, MySportsbook.com and Sportingbet easily form the world's largest internet sportsbook company and one of the internet's most profitable companies. The acquisition has provided for added transparency and accountability to MySportsbook.com customers and thus provides more safety and security for our customers. Our business is audited by BDO Stoy Hayward, one of the largest auditing firms in London, and our accounts are published quarterly on the London Exchange. We encourage you to take a look around and truly hope you enjoy your experience.
Through advertising deals with the top handicapping sites in the world, MySportsbook.com reaches a global audience and is one of the most commonly visited gaming spots on the Internet.
MySportsbook.com offers the largest selection of casino games and sporting wagers on the Internet. We believe that an educated player is a more responsible gambler, thus we provide you with all of the latest news and handicapping information. MySportsbook.com is your ultimate destination for gaming information and wagering. You can start by signing up in the Casino or Sportsbook. Once you sign up you can use your same login in either the casino or Sportsbook. So do it now and start winning serious money Today!
If at any time you have a question, we have numerous people waiting to help you, so don't be afraid to call our customer service department. We do not take any telephone wagers but we can certainly answer any questions you may have about our service.
MySportsbook.com is officially licensed in Antigua as a preferred licensee recognized by the Directorate of offshore gaming of Antigua and Barbuda.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts credit cards needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting