Phils try to keep perfect homestand intact against Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

07/06/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to stay unbeaten on their current homestand when they kick off a four-game series tonight versus the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park.

Philadelphia entered the residency having lost 12 of 15 games before sweeping the despised New York Mets in three games over the weekend. It completed the sweep with a 2-0 victory on Sunday thanks to solo home runs by Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, and 7 1/3 shutout innings from starter Joe Blanton. Blanton allowed four hits, struck out five batters and issued three walks to outduel Mets ace Johan Santana, who suffered the loss for allowing both homers through seven innings of work.

"You never know when it might be the last run against a great pitcher like that," Blanton said on the team's Web site.

The Phillies remained one game ahead of the Florida Marlins for the top spot in the NL East division, and will also host the Pittsburgh Pirates for three games on the homestand. Meanwhile, Utley and injured left fielder Raul Ibanez were selected as starters for the All-Star Game to be played July 14 in St. Louis, while first baseman Ryan Howard was named as a reserve. Ibanez is hitting .312 with 22 home runs and 59 RBI, but has been on the disabled list since June 18 with a strained left groin. He is expected to join the Phillies before the Mid-Summer Classic.

Ibanez is slated to start a rehab assignment Monday with Double-A Reading.

Taking the ball for the first-place Phillies today will be ace Cole Hamels, who has lost three straight starts and is winless over the past five trips to the mound. Hamels was rocked in his latest outing on July 1 at Atlanta, where he allowed seven runs and nine hits in four innings of an 11-1 loss to the Braves. He has allowed four or more runs in three of his last five starts.

The left-hander fell to 4-5 in 15 starts this season and saw his earned run average balloon from 4.44 to 4.98. Hamels, who is 2-2 in eight home starts, will face Cincinnati for the second time this season. He beat the Reds on the road back on May 19, as he yielded three runs in six innings of a 4-3 win. He also struck out seven batters that day to improve to 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA in five career appearances against Cincy.

Cincinnati will open a seven-game road trip Monday against the Phillies and Mets, and lost two of three meetings versus St. Louis over the weekend. In Sunday's 10-1 blowout loss at Great American Ball Park, Reds starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo surrendered eight runs --five earned -- on 11 hits in five innings of work to suffer the loss.

"I've been through worse stretches," Arroyo said on the team's site. "That's just the way it goes. I have no excuses other than the fact that this game isn't easy."

Jay Bruce accounted for the offense with an RBI triple for the Reds, who will have one representative for this year's All-Star Game in closer Francisco Cordero. Cordero will be making his third All-Star Game appearance after he went in 2004 with Texas and in 2007 for Milwaukee.

Jerry Hairston Jr. finished with a team-high two hits in defeat. Cincinnati sits three games off the lead in the NL Central standings.

Taking the ball for the Reds Monday will be Johnny Cueto. Cueto has won two straight and four of his last six starts, including a July 1 outing versus Arizona. In the 1-0 victory over the Diamondbacks, Cueto hurled six shutout innings of one-hit ball, struck out eight and walked four batters to lift his record to 8-4 in 16 starts, while lowering his ERA from 2.86 to 2.69.

The right-hander, who is 6-2 in nine starts this season, opposed Hamels back in mid May and suffered the loss for giving up four runs and seven hits in seven innings of work. It was Cueto's first appearance against Philadelphia.

Philadelphia took two of three matchups in Cincinnati from May 19-21, and has won six of the last eight meetings between the teams.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.