Happ beats Halladay as Astros edge struggling Phillies

Baseball Betting Lines

08/25/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Humberto Quintero's RBI single in the seventh inning helped J.A. Happ upend his former teammates, as Houston took another slim 3-2 victory over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.

Happ (4-2), who was traded by the Phillies along with two prospects to Houston in exchange for Roy Oswalt prior to the trade deadline, yielded just two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Astros, who have won the first three meetings in the four-game set.

Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn each hit a solo homer for the victors.

Roy Halladay (16-9) had a personal six-start win streak snapped, as the right- handed ace was touched for three runs in seven frames for the Phils, who stayed 2 1/2 games behind the Braves in the National League East race.

Both starters pitched into the seventh, a much-needed rest for both bullpens after Tuesday's grueling 16-inning marathon that Houston pulled out, 4-2.

Neither team recorded a hit until Pence crushed a 2-0 fastball into the seats in left-center with two outs in the fourth, breaking Halladay's scoreless stretch at 19 innings.

The Phillies' first hit was also a solo blast, as Jayson Werth took Happ deep over the wall in left leading off the fifth.

Bourn got into the act in the sixth with a solo shot to right for just his second home run of the year and first since June 28.

Halladay made up for the mistake with a leadoff single in the bottom half and went to second on a one-out single by Shane Victorino. Placido Polanco then lined a double over Carlos Lee's head in left to plate Halladay.

Both Victorino and Polanco were stranded, though, and the Astros took the lead again in the seventh, as Chris Johnson doubled with one away and came in two batters later on Quintero's bloop single to left.

Philadelphia threatened in the bottom half, but with two on and one out, Raul Ibanez, pinch-hitting for Halladay, flew out to center against Tim Byrdak. Then, with Mark Melancon on the hill, Quintero threw behind Ben Francisco at third. The runner stepped on Johnson's foot at the bag then stepped off and was tagged out for the unorthodox pickoff.

Brandon Lyon hurled a 1-2-3 eighth, then struck out the side in the ninth around Ryan Howard's two-out, pinch-hit single to pick up his eighth save of the season.

Despite the loss, the Phillies stayed atop the NL Wild Card race with the Giants, who lost an extra-inning game to Cincinnati earlier Wednesday.

Game Notes

The Astros announced pitcher Brian Moehler, sidelined since early July, will have surgery to repair a muscle in his lower abdomen that will end his 2010 season...Halladay had pitched to a 1.37 earned run average over his win streak.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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