10/05/2008 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pat Burrell belted two of Philadelphia's four home runs, as the Phillies earned a trip to the National League Championship Series for the first time in 15 years with a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Burrell collected three hits and drove in four runs for the Phillies, who captured the best-of-five National League Division Series three games to one and won a postseason series for the first time since ousting the Atlanta Braves in the 1993 NLCS.
Philadelphia will next face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won their first postseason series in 20 years with a sweep of the Chicago Cubs. The NLCS is set to begin on Thursday in Philadelphia.
Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth each hit a solo homer in the win, while Joe Blanton (1-0) was solid in his first-ever postseason start, allowing one run on five hits over six-plus innings of work to earn the victory. He recorded seven strikeouts and did not walk a batter.
Prince Fielder clubbed a solo home run for Milwaukee, which beat out the Mets on the final day of the regular season to claim the NL wild card for its first postseason appearance in 26 years. Jeff Suppan (0-1), the 2006 NLCS MVP with St. Louis, absorbed the loss as he was touched for five runs on six hits in just three innings.
"We live and die by the home run, and hopefully we pop them when we get people on base," said Brewers interim manager Dale Sveum. "But once again, today, we scored on a home run and one other run. We've got to change that. We've got to start learning how to manufacture runs and do things and put the ball in play and have really, really good at-bats going into next season."
Rollins led off the contest with a line smash that cleared the wall in right. After squandering an opportunity to build on their lead in the second, the Phillies erupted for four runs in the third.
Shane Victorino slapped a one-out double and, after the slumping Chase Utley grounded out, Suppan opted to intentionally walk Ryan Howard to get to Burrell. The decision backfired as Burrell drilled a 2-2 pitch over the left- field wall. Werth then clobbered a hanging slider into the left-center seats for a 5-0 Phillies lead.
Milwaukee got on the board in the seventh on Fielder's lone hit of the series, a leadoff blast over the right-center fence. Ryan Madson took over on the mound after J.J. Hardy singled to right. The lanky right-hander then induced a pair of groundouts and got Jason Kendall to fly out to end the inning.
Burrell struck again in the eighth, hammering an offering from Guillermo Mota to the seats in left. The Brewers, though, answered in the bottom half on Ryan Braun's RBI single.
Brad Lidge came on in the ninth for Philadelphia and gave up a one-out hit to Corey Hart. Lidge then fanned pinch-hitter Brad Nelson and retired Kendall on a grounder to end the game.
Game Notes
MLB commissioner Bud Selig, the former owner of the Brewers, threw out the first pitch...Milwaukee pitcher C.C. Sabathia struck out on three pitches as a pinch-hitter in the third inning...Yovani Gallardo, who started Game 1 for Milwaukee, relieved Suppan and surrendered one hit over three scoreless innings...Utley finished the series batting just .133 (2-for-15) with two RBI...Burrell became the second Phillies player to have a multi-homer game in the playoffs, joining Lenny Dykstra...The Phillies and Dodgers will meet in the NLCS for the fourth time. The Dodgers won in 1977 and '78, while the Phils returned the favor in 1983.
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
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PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS, 8:15 P.M. (ET)
Steelers - 3rd QB Dennis Dixon, FB Carey Davis, RB Willie Parker, LB Andre
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In their nine years under head coach Mike
Holmgren, the Seattle Seahawks have achieved things well beyond the realm of
what the organization had previously experienced.
Perennial top-dog status in the NFC
MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.
(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.
Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season.
MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.
Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown.
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