Road-weary Phils return home to host Mets
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies limp back home tied atop the NL East after a dreadful road trip. Tonight, they try to improve upon their horrific play in front of their own fans when they open a three-game series against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
Before the Phillies embarked on their recent nine-game trek, they had been an incredible 23-9 away from home. However, after losing six of nine on the trip, including an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies find themselves tied with the Florida Marlins for first place in the division with the Mets just a game back and the Braves only two behind.
Philadelphia fell for the 12th time in its last 15 tries on Thursday, falling 5-2 to the Braves.
The Phillies, who managed just seven runs in the sweep by the Braves, have been awful offensively, as Jimmy Rollins' season-long slump culminated with an 0-for-28 stint that was snapped in Thursday's loss with the former NL MVP finishing 2-for-4. Ryan Howard has also had a tough go of it of late with just one home run in his last 14 games.
Going home, though, may not cure Philadelphia's woes, as the Phillies are a dreadful 13-22 this season at home, where they will play their next 10 games.
As if things were not bad enough, the Phillies turn tonight to a pitcher in Rodrigo Lopez, who has not made a major league start since July 26, 2007 when he was with Colorado.
Lopez, a two-time 15-game winner for the Baltimore Orioles, endured Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter and was sidelined all of last season. This year in 13 starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Lopez was 5-4 with a 3.91 ERA.
The Mets, meanwhile, saved themselves from a crushing loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, before finally pulling out a 9-8 decision in 10 innings at PNC Park.
New York fell behind 5-0, but scored the next eight runs to take an 8-5 advantage into the ninth. However, the usually reliable Francisco Rodriguez gave it all back, as the Pirates scored three times in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
Fernando Tatis, who finished 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and scored four times, was hit by a Matt Capps pitch with two down in the 10th, stole second, then motored home as Ryan Church bounced a base hit up the middle to put the Mets ahead by a run.
Rodriguez (2-2) then sent the Bucs down in order to finish the game.
"I'm the kind of guy that if I make a mess, I clean it up," Rodriguez said. "I felt really frustrated that I didn't get the job done in the ninth, then we score and I go back out there in the 10th."
New York's win was its second straight following a five-game slide.
The Mets will hand the ball tonight to Livan Hernandez, who is 5-3 with a 4.04 ERA. Hernandez lost his second straight start on Sunday against the New York Yankees, as he allowed three runs and three hits in seven innings.
Hernandez has faced the Phillies 24 times and is 10-8 in those contests with a 3.36 ERA.
New York has won four of its seven matchups with the Phillies after winning 11 of the 18 meetings a year ago.
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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
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