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07/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A terrific first half of the season is having an unwanted ending for the Cincinnati Reds, who'll be out to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies when the two postseason hopefuls square off again this afternoon from Citizens Bank Park.
It's been a frustrating few days in the City of Brotherly Love for the National League Central-leading Reds, who've yet to win in this series despite having chances to do so in each of the first three meetings. After being edged by the Phillies in 12 innings during Friday's opener, Cincinnati blew a six- run lead in the bottom of the ninth in an eventual 9-7 defeat the following night.
On Saturday, the Reds received a near-perfect game out of rookie starter Travis Wood, but failed to generate any offense in a 1-0, 11-inning loss, the team's third straight setback to the Phillies in extra frames.
Wood, making only his second career start in the majors, retired the first 24 Philadelphia hitters before Carlos Ruiz spoiled his bid for perfection with a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth. The young left-hander rebounded to set down the next three batters to keep the game in a scoreless deadlock.
"The main thing was that he was throwing strikes, first-pitch strikes," said Reds manager Dusty Baker of Wood. "He was getting his secondary pitches over. When he fell behind, he had the composure to come back and throw strikes. You have some very good hitters over there. That was one of the best performances I have seen in a long time."
Unfortunately for Baker and his team, Roy Halladay was just as good on the mound for Philadelphia. The All-Star workhorse also fired nine shutout innings and held the Reds to five hits while striking out nine batters.
Cincinnati had a chance to get on the board against Phillies closer Brad Lidge in the top of the 10th, when Jay Bruce led off with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. However, Lidge fanned Ryan Hanigan for the second out and after issuing an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Lance Nix, got Brandon Phillips to fly out and end the threat.
Ruiz, activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game, doubled off reliever Bill Bray with one out in the bottom of the 11th and scored the game's only run on a two-out single off the bat of Jimmy Rollins.
"That was a lot of fun," said Rollins afterward. "It would have been more fun if we just found a way to get one run so Roy could get that win. Both pitchers were great."
Even with their three straight wins, the two-time defending NL champion Phillies remain 5 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East race and trail Colorado by 2 1/2 games for the league's Wild Card berth.
Cincinnati has now four of its last five tilts, but maintained a two-game edge on St. Louis in the NL Central standings after the Cardinals lost to Houston on Saturday. The Reds have also now been dealt defeats in 10 of their last 12 visits to Citizens Bank Park.
The task doesn't figure to get any easier for the Reds today, considering Phillies scheduled starter Cole Hamels' impressive track record of success against Cincinnati. The 2008 World Series MVP boasts a 5-0 record in six career matchups with today's opponent, and has yielded a mere seven runs (six earned) in a combined 43 innings over the course of those games. The Reds have batted an anemic .150 off of him during that time frame.
Hamels has gone 0-2 with a pair of no-decisions in a four-start span since his most recent victory, which took place June 13 at Boston, but hasn't pitched that badly over the winless stretch. He's allowed three runs and struck out eight through seven innings in each of his last two assignments, a July 1 loss at Pittsburgh and Tuesday's non-verdict against Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park.
The left-hander does come in having lost five of his last six decisions following a 5-2 beginning to the season, but has often been the victim of a lack of offensive support. In those five defeats, the Phillies have scored three or less runs each time.
Philadelphia will take its swings today against rookie Matt Maloney, a former Phillies farmhand who'll be making his second major league start of the season. The left-hander, a third-round selection by the Phils in the 2005 draft, was brought up from the minors earlier in the week to fill the rotation spot vacated by the injured Aaron Harang.
Maloney made his Reds season debut on Tuesday against the New York Mets and was outdueled by Johan Santana in a 3-0 loss. The 26-year-old was touched for all three runs on seven hits, but did issue just one walk in his 5 2/3 innings.
The University of Mississippi product, traded by the Philadelphia organization to the Reds for pitcher Kyle Lohse in July of 2007, made seven starts for Cincinnati last season and went 2-4 with a 4.87 ERA.
The Phillies hold a 4-2 advantage so far in this year's season series with the Reds, with Cincinnati taking two of three bouts between the clubs in Ohio last month.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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