Phils rest hopes on Blanton in second test vs. Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Many assume that the Phillies will be in the hunt for pitching prior to the non-waiver trade deadline at the end of this month. That need will be lessened a bit if Joe Blanton can get on track.

Blanton will try to pitch Philadelphia to a second victory in a row this evening when his club continues a four-game set versus the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park.

After beginning the season on the disabled list because of an oblique injury, Blanton has gone 3-5 with a 6.27 earned run average in 12 starts and has allowed at least three runs in every outing this year. He was able to lock down consecutive wins near the end of June, but has posted two straight no- decisions, including on Sunday versus the Pirates. The right-hander gave up five runs on six hits without a walk and seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings of his team's 8-5 setback.

"Kind of the way it's gone for me," Blanton told Philadelphia's website. "[I] was throwing the ball great and still find a way to give up three or five runs. That's hard to take."

Blanton won his first two career decisions versus the Reds before getting a no-decision in a June 29 victory for the Phillies. The 29-year-old gave up three runs over 7 2/3 innings of a game his club won 9-6.

Despite blowing two leads after starter Kyle Kendrick left Thursday's series opener, including one by closer Brad Lidge on Miguel Cairo's pinch-hit double in the ninth, the Phillies claimed a 4-3 triumph in 12 innings thanks to Brian Schneider's walk-off solo homer against the Reds' Jordan Smith.

"You don't go up there trying to hit a home run," Schneider said. "I was just trying to hit the ball hard."

Shane Victorino had three hits and hit his career-high-tying 14th homer of the season for the Phillies, who won for just the third time in nine games but did move within 5 1/2 games of idle Atlanta for first place in the National League East.

On the same day he locked down a spot on the NL All-Star roster through the league's Final Vote contest, Joey Votto hit his league-leading 22nd homer and scored the game-tying run on Cairo's hit. However, the Reds fell to 5-3 on an 11-game road trip that closes out their first half.

Cincinnati, which still leads St. Louis by three games for first place in the NL Central, hopes that rookie Mike Leake can build off his last start as he held the Cubs to three runs and eight hits over six innings of a 14-3 victory on Sunday. The 22-year-old was 0-1 with a 6.85 ERA in four starts prior to that outing but did allow two homers for the third time in five starts.

That includes an outing versus the Phillies and Blanton in which Schneider and Wilson Valdez connected on three-run homers off the right-handed Arizona State product. Leake got a no-decision in that outing, his first ever versus Philadelphia.

Leake is 6-1 with a 3.38 ERA on the season and 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in six road starts.

The Phillies and Reds have split four meetings this season after Cincinnati took two of three at home earlier this week, but the Philadelphia has still won 11 of 16 and 16 of the last 24 meetings in the series.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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