Hamels, Phillies complete sweep of Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

08/29/2010 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cole Hamels pitched eight shutout innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies swept the San Diego Padres in three games with a 5-0 victory at Petco Park.

Hamels (8-10) recorded his first win since July 11 despite pitching very well in the interim. The lefty, who has a 2.46 ERA in his last nine starts, finally earned the win in one of them after allowing just four hits while fanning six without walking a batter.

Mike Sweeney hit a two-run homer -- his first with the club -- for the Phillies, who maintained their two-game deficit in the NL East after Atlanta rallied for a 7-6 win over Florida earlier Sunday. They maintained their 1 1/2-game lead in the wild card race over San Francisco, which beat Arizona.

Jayson Werth added a solo shot.

Adrian Gonzalez had three of San Diego's five hits, as the Padres suffered their fourth straight loss -- a season-worst. The Padres, who have the best record in the NL, were swept in a series for only the second time this season.

Clayton Richard (12-6) lost for the first time since July 22 -- a string of six starts and five wins -- after giving up four runs -- two earned -- on four hits and one walk while fanning five in 7 2/3 frames. San Diego was hampered by a season-high four errors.

The Padres' lead in the NL West still stands at a sizeable 5 1/2 games over the Giants.

The Phillies' first seven batters were retired, but the visitors managed a run in the third.

Carlos Ruiz reached on an infield single and moved to second when Richard's pickoff attempt bounced past first base. He went to third on Hamels' groundout and came around to score on Jimmy Rollins' base hit to right.

In the seventh, Werth worked a two-out walk, and Sweeney followed him with a bullet down the left-field line for a two-run homer and a 3-0 advantage.

Philadelphia padded its lead in the eighth when Ruiz singled leading off, moved to second when Hamels reached on an error and scored on Ryan Ludwick's throwing error after a spectacular diving catch in right.

Hamels, who labored through the first two innings -- needing 50 pitches, settled down to shut down the Padres' offense. After allowing a two-out single to Gonzalez in the third, the lefty retired the final 16 batters he faced, using only 65 pitches to finish the final six innings of his outing.

Werth's ninth-inning solo shot accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

The Phillies have won seven straight in San Diego and won the season series, 5-2...The Padres had won on each of their last 10 Sunday games...Philadelphia has won 10 of its last 11 day games...The Phillies scored more than three runs for the first time since last Sunday against Washington. They had scored three or fewer in six straight contests...San Diego's Chris Denorfia (back) was scratched from the lineup...In this series, Phillies starters went 22 innings and allowed just two runs, an ERA of 0.82...The Padres suffered their first four-game losing streak since August 13-16, 2009.

Www1luckygambler Baseball Betting News

<< Gonzalez homers twice as Rockies take series from Dodgers
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBI, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-5, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Coors Field. Dexter Fowler chipped in

<< O's record first-ever season sweep of Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Guthrie came within two outs of his first career shutout and Matt Wieters knocked in the lone run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, as Baltimore posted a 1-0 victory to complete its first-e

<< Said nips Papis for Montreal Nationwide win
Montreal, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boris Said finally became a first-time winner in one of NASCAR's national touring series after he edged Max Papis by inches at the finish line in Sunday's NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide Series race at

<< Uihlein wins U.S. Amateur Championship
University Place, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Uihlein defeated David Chung, 4 & 2 on Sunday to win the 110th U.S. Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay. It will be a happy 21st birthday for the Oklahoma State University star. "I hope

<< Blue Jays to shut down Morrow after next start
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brandon Morrow will be shut down for the season following his next start on September 3 against the New York Yankees. The right-hander is 10-6 with a 4.27 earned run average

Persistently defeats Rachel Alexandra in Personal Ensign Stakes >>
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Persistently, ridden by Alan Garcia, caught 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in late stretch to capture Sunday's $300,000 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Winning trainer

Raburn's homers and Porcello's pitching help Tigers pound Jays >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Porcello spun seven solid innings and Ryan Raburn belted two home runs, finishing with four RBI, as the Detroit Tigers pounded Toronto, 10-4, to salvage a split of a four-game series at Rogers Centre.

Sanchez, Giants rally past Diamondbacks >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddy Sanchez had three hits, knocked in two runs and scored a run to push San Francisco past Arizona, 9-7, in a back and forth affair in the last of a three-game set. Andres Torres added two h

Red Sox claim Napoli off waivers >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have claimed Angels catcher/ infielder Mike Napoli off waivers. Napoli, who has spent his entire five-year career with Los Angeles, was not in the Angels' starting lineup for Sunday's game ag

Farrior leaves game with head laceration >>
DENVER (AP) - Pittsburgh linebacker James Farrior has left the Steelers' game at Denver after suffering a head laceration.Farrior's helmet went flying when he helped stuff running back LenDale White for no gain on second-and-goal at the 2 early in t

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.


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.