Dodgers send Kershaw to the hill in finale with Phillies

Baseball Betting Lines

08/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Dodgers plan on leaving the City of Brotherly Love with a series win over Philadelphia this evening, starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw may have to do something he's never done before.

Kershaw is scheduled to pitch in Thursday's finale of a three-game series against a Phillies team he hasn't been able to beat in four career regular- season starts. He is 0-3 with a 6.64 earned run average in his career against Philadelphia, which previously beat him during last year's NLCS.

The left-hander has lost two straight starts overall and three of his last four decisions. Kershaw was last in action during Friday's 6-3 loss versus Washington and yielded six runs and seven hits in six innings. Kershaw, who fell to 10-7 in 23 starts and raised his ERA to 3.19, owns a 4-4 mark in 10 outings as the guest this season.

Los Angeles is still alive in the playoff race and sits 5 1/2 games off the NL Wild Card lead. It's also eight games behind San Diego for the top spot in the National League West Division and suffered a 2-0 loss last night after taking Tuesday's series opener by a 15-9 score. Phils starter Roy Oswalt held the Dodgers in check with seven shutout innings, while Scott Podsednik ended with a team-best three hits for the Dodgers.

Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley pitched well enough for the win, but allowed two runs with three walks and three K's to absorb his seventh loss (9-7).

"You just can't make too many mistakes in these types of games," Billingsley said after LA's three-game winning streak came to an end.

Philadelphia is in the same situation as Los Angeles and is also fighting for a playoff spot. It is tied with Cincinnati at one game behind San Francisco in the NL Wild Card standings and remained 2 1/2 games in back of Atlanta for NL East bragging rights.

Oswalt was on point in his home debut for the Phils, as he struck out five and walked two batters for the win. Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge both tossed a scoreless innings of relief, with Lidge picking up his 15th save.

"I pitched here before and I like the mound here," Oswalt said of his home debut with the Phillies. "It really wasn't too bad."

Raul Ibanez extended his hitting streak to a career-best 18 games with two hits and an RBI. Ibanez is batting .409 with four homers and 17 RBI during his run. Domonic Brown drove in the other run for the Phillies, who have won seven of their last nine games. The Phillies saw another player go down because of injury after Ross Gload exited the game with a groin problem. Veteran Mike Sweeney replaced him and could start tonight for the Phils, who are already without Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Shane Victorino.

The Phillies would like to see Joe Blanton keep the winning tradition going when he toes the rubber tonight. Blanton has posted back-to-back no-decisions and is coming off a strong start last Friday in a 7-5 win over the New York Mets. Blanton held the despised NL East foes to a pair of runs in seven innings, and remained at 4-6 in 18 starts to go along with a 5.65 ERA.

Blanton is 3-2 in nine home starts this season and will make his fifth career start against Los Angeles tonight. He is 1-0 with a 2.88 ERA in four career matchups -- all starts -- with the Dodgers.

Philadelphia took all three matchups at home in defeating Los Angeles in five games during last year's NLCS, but the Dodgers have won in three of their last five visits to Citizens Bank Park in the regular season.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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