Phillies avoid sweep, snap Cardinals' eight-game win streak

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Placido Polanco's leadoff homer in the 11th inning provided the game-winning run, and the Philadelphia Phillies avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 2-0 victory.

Polanco, a former Cardinal who finished with three hits on Thursday, crushed his sixth home run of the year and first since May 9 for the Phillies, who had lost six of seven to begin their second of half of the season. Ryan Howard also had three hits, while Jayson Werth added an RBI double in the win.

Cole Hamels was spectacular in the start, allowing just a hit and a walk in eight shutout innings. He faced 25 batters, one over the minimum, and has allowed one run in his last 22 2/3 innings over three starts. Chad Durbin (2- 1) earned the victory, while Brad Lidge recorded his eighth save.

Adam Wainwright extended his scoreless innings streak to 25 after giving up six hits while fanning six in six frames for the Cardinals, who had their eight-game win streak snapped. St. Louis advanced just one runner past first base for the duration of the game and had just three baserunners overall.

With Kyle McClellan (1-3) on to begin the 11th for St. Louis, Polanco hammered a 1-1 pitch into the left field seats to break the scoreless tie.

Two batters later, Trever Miller relieved McClellan and walked Raul Ibanez, which was followed by a Howard single. Fernando Salas came on to pitch to Werth, who sent an RBI double down the left field line for an insurance run.

Lidge pitched around a leadoff walk in the home half to polish off the win.

While Hamels was dominant, the Phillies squandered several chances to push a run across.

Two of the game's first three batters reached base, but Howard grounded into a fielder's choice before Werth struck out to end the threat.

Philadelphia stranded a runner on third in the second and runners on the corners in the fourth, and Wainwright settled down to face the minimum six batters in the fifth and sixth.

Meanwhile, Hamels didn't allow a baserunner until the fifth and faced the minimum 21 batters through the first seven innings. He yielded a two-out walk to Yadier Molina in the eighth, but recovered to strike out Brendan Ryan and keep the game scoreless.

The Phillies nearly scored in the eighth when Shane Victorino doubled with two away and moved to third when Matt Holliday couldn't handle the line drive in left, but Ibanez struck out to maintain the 0-0 tie.

Game Notes

Werth's RBI double was his first hit with runners in scoring position since June 24...The teams split the season series, 4-4...This was the first game Wainwright has started at home this season in which the Cardinals did not win. The team had been 10-0.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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