Halladay doesn't duplicate perfection, but Phils still top Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

06/04/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Halladay wasn't perfect, but the Phillies' ace still threw seven solid innings and was backed by Shane Victorino's productive night in a 3-2 win over the Padres.

Halladay (8-3), in his first start since retiring 27 consecutive Florida Marlins hitters for the 20th perfect game in major league history, scattered 10 hits and a walk while holding San Diego to two runs.

The right-hander also struck out seven and went 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored for the Phils, who were coming off a dreadful 2-7 road trip that saw them get shut out four times.

Victorino sparked the listless offense with a two-run homer and double while scoring a pair of runs in the victory, which was finished off by Brad Lidge in the ninth.

Mat Latos (5-4) only lasted five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks while fanning six to take the loss, his first in six starts.

Adrian Gonzalez and Tony Gwynn Jr. each had two hits and an RBI in the loss, the second for the Padres in six games.

Jose Contreras relieved Halladay in the eighth and put two on before getting pulled for J.C. Romero with one out. Oscar Salazar came in as a pinch-hitter and worked a walk to load the bases, but Romero got Chris Denorfia to bounce into a 5-3 double play to preserve the 3-2 lead.

Lidge, who returned from his second stint on the disabled list earlier in the week, set down San Diego's 2-3-4 hitters in succession, striking out Chase Headley to close out his second save of the season and first since May 9.

Consecutive singles by Scott Hairston and Nick Hundley put runners on the corners to start the second, and two batters later Gwynn poked a 1-2 curveball to right for a 1-0 game.

Halladay stranded runners on first and third the next frame and pushed a single to right for the Phillies' first hit of the game in the bottom half. Victorino then took a fastball over the right-field wall for his first home run since May 15, giving the Phillies their first lead.

Again the Padres had runners on the corners in the fifth and got a run on a Gonzalez sacrifice fly.

The Phillies regained the lead in the bottom half, as they loaded the bases with one out. After Ryan Howard struck out, Jayson Werth took a payoff pitch off the plate to force in Victorino for the eventual game-winner.

Game Notes

Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco (elbow) played for the first time since May 27 and went 1-for-4...Latos had thrown at least six innings and given up two runs or fewer in each of his previous six starts...The Phillies have not scored more than three runs in their past 12 games...The Padres, who outhit the Phillies, 10-6, went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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