Braves fall back into wild card tie with loss to Phils
Baseball Betting Lines
09/27/2011 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta's once healthy wild card lead is no more, as the Braves were dumped by the record-setting Phillies, 7-1, and the Cardinals came back and beat the Astros later Tuesday night.
The Cardinals trailed the Braves by 10 1/2 games on August 25, but polar opposite performances in September has the clubs all square atop the wild card standings heading into the regular season finale.
Atlanta has a 9-17 mark in September to blame, including losses in seven of its last nine.
Philadelphia, responsible for five of its division rivals' losses in the last month, matched a club record with 101 wins, set a franchise mark with 49 road victories and saw manager Charlie Manuel match Gene Mauch for first place on the club's all-time wins list.
Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Hunter Pence all homered for the five-time NL East champions, while Roy Oswalt (9-10) hurled six scoreless innings.
Derek Lowe (9-17), the embodiment of Atlanta's collapse, was tagged for five runs on six hits in four-plus innings, falling to 0-5 in September with an 8.75 earned run average.
"It's just been a long year, my worst year by far. But with that being said, this isn't about me, it's about our team. We still have a chance," Lowe said.
That chance rests on the arm of veteran Tim Hudson, who will start opposite Joe Blanton in the regular season finale Wednesday. If a tiebreaker is needed, St. Louis will host Atlanta on Thursday.
Atlanta will start veteran Tim Hudson in the regular season finale, while Philadelphia will counter with Joe Blanton.
The Phillies, winners of three straight since a season-long eight-game skid, jumped on Lowe in the first inning via Utley's solo shot to center.
The visitors pushed two more across in the third on Rollins' RBI single through the right side and Pence's sacrifice fly.
Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez each singled to begin the fourth, and the former scored on Placido Polanco's sacrifice fly.
Lowe exited to a mix of sarcastic clapping and boos from the Turner Field crowd after yielding a leadoff single to Rollins in the fifth. Three batters later, Pence took Arodys Vizcaino deep to left-center for his 22nd home run and a 6-0 cushion.
"It's always nice to put some runs on the board, especially early. Lately our pitchers have been having to go eight innings just to see one run get on the board," Rollins said.
Julio Teheran surrendered Rollins' blast in the seventh, and the only hit the Braves managed off Philadelphia's bullpen was Martin Prado's home run off Kyle Kendrick in the ninth.
Game Notes
The Phillies won 101 games in 1976 and '77 and had 48 road wins in 1976 and 2009...Manuel and Mauch each have 645 wins, with the latter managing from 1960-68...Rollins had three of the Phillies' nine hits. With a steal in the third, he reached 30-plus stolen bases for the ninth time in his career...Braves shortstop Alex Gonzalez left the game early with a right calf strain...Philadelphia leads the season series, 11-6.
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delmon Young had three hits, including a homer and knocked in three, as the Tigers used another big offensive showing to down Cleveland, 9-6, at Comerica Park. Detroit had 18 hits in a 14-0 win on Monday.
<< Red Sox edge Orioles, stay tied for wild card lead
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Lavarnway hit his first two career home
runs and totaled four RBI as the Boston Red Sox temporarily put the brakes on
a September swoon with an 8-7 decision over Baltimore in the middle test of a
three-g
<< Tosoni's slam lifts Twins over Royals
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rene Tosoni's sixth-inning grand slam
proved to be the difference as Minnesota downed Kansas City by a 7-4 count in
the second of three between the clubs.
Chris Parmelee added a solo shot, and both
<< Buehrle, White Sox edge Blue Jays in first game without Guillen
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the first night without manager Ozzie
Guillen, pitcher Mark Buehrle dazzled in what may be his last start as a White
Sox.
Buehrle pitched seven shutout frames to lead Chicago past Toronto, 2-1, in the
<< Triple play, Joyce HR keep Rays tied for wild card lead
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A triple play in the sixth inning kept
the Rays from getting too far behind, and Matt Joyce's seventh-inning homer
put them in front.
Both plays likely saved their season.
Joyce's three-run blas
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Prince Fielder hit three home runs for the first time in his career, including the tie-breaking two-run blast in the seventh, to power the Brewers to a 6-4 victory over the Pirates. Fielder had a pa
Cardinals tie wild card with victory over Astros >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cardinals improbably control their own
postseason fate after coming back and destroying the Astros, 13-6, in the
penultimate game of the regular season.
St. Louis trailed wild card-leading Atlant
Stubbs, Reds squeeze win over Mets in 13 >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Stubbs executed a go-ahead squeeze bunt
as the Cincinnati Reds edged the New York Mets, 5-4, in 13 innings.
Juan Francisco slapped a one-out triple in the right-center field gap off of
Dale Thayer (
Brown signs bill to help get NFL stadium in LA >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - California governor Jerry Brown signed a
bill Tuesday to help Los Angeles get a new NFL stadium by way of avoiding long
court battles.
"It's time for big thinking and big projects that put California
Colts bring back quarterback Dan Orlovsky >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts, searching for
stability at a position that has been stable for well over a decade, have
reportedly brought back quarterback Dan Orlovsky.
Orlovsky was re-signed late Tuesd
NFL Football Betting
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
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BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
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COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
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TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
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RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
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PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
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SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
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SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
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BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
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BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
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RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
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PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.