Victorino, Phillies power past Braves in series opener
Baseball Betting Lines
07/01/2008 -
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino homered and drove in four, and
the Philadelphia Phillies downed the Atlanta Braves, 8-3, in the opener of a
three-game set.
Kyle Kendrick (8-3) scattered seven hits and three runs over six-plus innings,
fanning two and walking two. The Phillies righthander tossed six scoreless
frames before allowing three runs in the seventh.
"Kyle pitched great and we did enough offensively," Victorino said. "We
haven't put both phases together recently."
Pat Burrell also homered and knocked in two runs for the Phillies, who had
dropped nine of 11 prior to this series.
Chipper Jones made a surprise return to the lineup, going 1-for-3 with two
walks for the Braves, who have dropped three straight and five out of seven.
Rookie Charlie Morton (1-2) was roughed up for five runs on eight hits in two-
plus innings to take the loss for Atlanta.
Jones had missed eight straight games with a quad injury and expected to be
placed on the disabled list on Tuesday, but apparently showed up at the
ballpark feeling good enough to play. His presence wasn't enough for the
Braves, however.
After leaving the bases loaded in consecutive innings and allowing the Braves
to cut a 5-0 deficit to 5-3, the Phils broke through for three insurance runs
in the ninth. Pedro Feliz's sacrifice fly scored Jayson Werth, who had
singled, stole second, and advanced to third when Brian McCann's throw sailed
into center field.
The Phillies loaded the bases later in the frame, and Victorino singled into
left, plating two more runs to extend Philadelphia's lead to five.
Burrell belted his 20th homer of the campaign to left to lead off the second,
and the Phillies took control with a four-spot in the third. Jimmy Rollins
singled to right to start the inning, and Victorino ripped a line drive over
the fence down the line in right for a 3-0 edge.
Chase Utley and Ryan Howard laced consecutive singles, and Burrell lined
an RBI single to center. Geoff Jenkins then fisted an RBI single to shallow
left, the sixth straight Phillies hit, ending the evening for Morton.
Buddy Carlyle came on with two runners on and no outs, and retired the bottom
of the Phillies lineup to keep the deficit at 5-0. The Braves bullpen put up
six scoreless innings before the ninth.
"You try to the best you can, keep them off the scoreboard and keep your team
in the game," Carlyle said. "Hopefully we can get a win tomorrow."
The Phillies loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Jenkins popped
up on a 3-0 count, and Feliz grounded into a fielder's choice to keep the lead
at 5-0. The Braves came back with three runs in the home half of the frame.
Three straight hits, capped by a two-run double to right-center by pinch-
hitter Greg Norton, got the Braves on the board and ended Kendrick's day. J.C.
Romero came on and got out of the inning, but not before another run scored on
a fielder's choice grounder by Mark Teixeira to pull Atlanta within 5-3.
Game Notes
Struggling Phils starter Brett Myers agreed to be optioned to Triple-A Lehigh
Valley on Tuesday. Myers is 3-9 on the season with a 5.84 earned run
average...Atlanta outfielder Mark Kotsay also returned to the lineup, as he
was activated from the DL on Tuesday after sitting with a back injury.
Outfielder Brandon Jones was optioned to Triple-A Richmond...Burrell has hit
at least 20 homers in eight straight seasons...Jenkins was in an 0-for-27
slump before his RBI single into left in third.
<< Rockies' Taveras leaves game
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies outfielder Willy Taveras
left Tuesday's 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in the sixth inning with
soreness in his left quadriceps.
The 26-year-old Taveras was 1-for-3 with an RBI
<< Garza outduels Wakefield as Rays top BoSox
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Garza twirled seven strong innings
and Dioner Navarro drove in two runs, as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the
Boston Red Sox, 3-1, at Tropicana Field.
Garza (7-4) allowed one unearned run and
<< Seattle P Hernandez sent to DL
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez was sent to the
15-day disabled list following Monday's 2-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hernandez was helped off the field with a sprained left ankle in the fifth
inning
<< Jays' Halladay silences Seattle bats in 10th career shutout
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Halladay threw a four-hitter for his 10th
career shutout as the Toronto Blue Jays stymied the Seattle Mariners, 2-0, in
the opener of a three-game series.
Halladay (9-6) gave up only four singles, didn't
<< Smith goes the distance as A's top Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Smith threw his second complete game of
the year as the Oakland Athletics opened a three-game set against the LA
Angels of Anaheim with a 6-1 win at Angel Stadium.
Smith (5-6) gave up just one ru
Wilson, McLouth help Pirates rally in 11th to down Reds >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Wilson and Nate McLouth used RBI hits
in the 11th to help lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-5 win over the
Cincinnati Reds in the middle contest of a three-game series.
Wilson had three hits
Hernandez, O's top Royals >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Hernandez finished 2-for-4 with two
runs batted in, as the Baltimore Orioles held on to beat Kansas City, 7-5, in
the second contest of a four-game series with the Royals.
Radhames Liz (3-0) picke
Bruins sign Ryder to multi-year contract >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins improved the talent level on
their forward line on Tuesday when the club signed free agent forward Michael
Ryder to a multi-year contract.
The 28-year-old Ryder played all four seasons o
Utah Blaze (Arena) >>
Accepted the resignation of head coach Danny White.
Rangers nip Yanks with run in ninth >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Young went 2-for-5 and drove in the go-
ahead run in the ninth inning, as the Texas Rangers edged the New York
Yankees, 3-2, in the middle contest of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.
Chris Da
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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