Happ beats Halladay as Astros edge struggling Phillies

Baseball Betting Lines

08/25/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Humberto Quintero's RBI single in the seventh inning helped J.A. Happ upend his former teammates, as Houston took another slim 3-2 victory over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.

Happ (4-2), who was traded by the Phillies along with two prospects to Houston in exchange for Roy Oswalt prior to the trade deadline, yielded just two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Astros, who have won the first three meetings in the four-game set.

Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn each hit a solo homer for the victors.

Roy Halladay (16-9) had a personal six-start win streak snapped, as the right- handed ace was touched for three runs in seven frames for the Phils, who stayed 2 1/2 games behind the Braves in the National League East race.

Both starters pitched into the seventh, a much-needed rest for both bullpens after Tuesday's grueling 16-inning marathon that Houston pulled out, 4-2.

Neither team recorded a hit until Pence crushed a 2-0 fastball into the seats in left-center with two outs in the fourth, breaking Halladay's scoreless stretch at 19 innings.

The Phillies' first hit was also a solo blast, as Jayson Werth took Happ deep over the wall in left leading off the fifth.

Bourn got into the act in the sixth with a solo shot to right for just his second home run of the year and first since June 28.

Halladay made up for the mistake with a leadoff single in the bottom half and went to second on a one-out single by Shane Victorino. Placido Polanco then lined a double over Carlos Lee's head in left to plate Halladay.

Both Victorino and Polanco were stranded, though, and the Astros took the lead again in the seventh, as Chris Johnson doubled with one away and came in two batters later on Quintero's bloop single to left.

Philadelphia threatened in the bottom half, but with two on and one out, Raul Ibanez, pinch-hitting for Halladay, flew out to center against Tim Byrdak. Then, with Mark Melancon on the hill, Quintero threw behind Ben Francisco at third. The runner stepped on Johnson's foot at the bag then stepped off and was tagged out for the unorthodox pickoff.

Brandon Lyon hurled a 1-2-3 eighth, then struck out the side in the ninth around Ryan Howard's two-out, pinch-hit single to pick up his eighth save of the season.

Despite the loss, the Phillies stayed atop the NL Wild Card race with the Giants, who lost an extra-inning game to Cincinnati earlier Wednesday.

Game Notes

The Astros announced pitcher Brian Moehler, sidelined since early July, will have surgery to repair a muscle in his lower abdomen that will end his 2010 season...Halladay had pitched to a 1.37 earned run average over his win streak.

Wwwtechweb Baseball Betting News

<< Wells powers Blue Jays past Yankees
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle and drove in four runs to power Toronto to a 6-3 win over New York in the last of a three-game set. Wells finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs s

<< Pirates beat Cardinals again behind McCutchen
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel McCutchen threw six strong innings and Neil Walker hit a three-run triple as the Pittsburgh Pirates took a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the finale of a three-game set from PNC Park.

<< Cahill continues Oakland's pitching prowess in win over Tribe
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Cahill pitched Oakland's 17th straight quality start, and the Athletics shut down the Indians in a 6-1 win at Progressive Field. Cahill (14-5) continued his sensational season by pitching s

<< Ramirez, Marlins edge Mets
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hanley Ramirez went 4-for-5 and drove in a run, as the Florida Marlins held on to edge the New York Mets, 5-4, in the middle contest of a three-game series. Logan Morrison added three hits, includin

<< Lopez helps M's earn doubleheader split with BoSox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Lopez went 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI, while Felix Hernandez pitched into the eighth inning, as the Seattle Mariners edged Boston, 4-2, to earn a split in their doubleheader with the Red Sox. Hernande

Nats' Willingham has season-ending knee surgery >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham had successful knee surgery on Wednesday, which will effectively end his 2010 season. Willingham, who is expected to be ready for spring training,

Langley, An win in first-round match play at U.S. Amateur >>
University Place, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Byeong-Hun An and current NCAA champion Scott Langley were both winners in first round match play at the U.S. Amateur. Langely, the low amateur at the U.S. Open, defeated Tim J

Wozniacki, Dementieva land in New Haven quarters >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki and former U.S. Open runner-up Elena Dementieva were each second-round winners Wednesday at the $600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final hardcourt U.S. Open tune-up. Denmark's

Wieters, Matusz lead Orioles past White Sox >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Wieters collected two hits and drove in two runs in support of seven strong innings from Brian Matusz, as Baltimore slowed down Chicago, 4-2, in the middle session of a three-game set. Brian Roberts

Morehead State men's hoops placed on probation >>
Morehead, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morehead State University announced on Wednesday its men's basketball program has been placed on probation for two years due to major violations in recruiting. The violation, which is related to

Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.