10/02/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino hit a grand slam off CC Sabathia, and Brett Myers tossed seven strong innings as Philadelphia downed Milwaukee, 5-2, in Game 2 of the teams' National League Division Series.
The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series and moved one victory away from winning their first playoff series since 1993. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday in Milwaukee.
It was Victorino's first career grand slam and the first postseason grand slam in Phillies franchise history. Myers (1-0) gave up two runs on two hits and three walks, while striking out four, for Philadelphia, which has won seven straight against Milwaukee dating back to the regular season.
Myers also went 1-for-2 with a crucial walk that led to Victorino's homer.
Philadelphia got all its runs off Sabathia (0-1), who turned in his second- shortest outing of the season. In 3 2/3 frames, he gave up five runs on six hits and four walks, with five strikeouts.
Sabathia, who was going on short rest for the fourth straight time, went 3 1/3 innings in his third start of the season. Sabathia on Thursday gave up five earned runs for the first time since an April 16 start against Detroit.
J.J. Hardy doubled and drove in a run for the Brewers, who are making their first postseason appearance since 1982, but overcame an 0-2 series deficit that postseason. Milwaukee lost the first two games of the best-of- five American League Championship Series, but rebounded to win the final three games against the California Angels.
Despite Myers' solid final line, he got into a jam in the first inning. With one out, Ray Durham walked and Ryan Braun doubled to put runners in scoring position. Myers then intentionally walked Prince Fielder before also walking Hardy to force in a run.
However, the Phillies starter avoided further trouble by getting Corey Hart to hit a grounder back to the mound, which Myers turned into an inning-ending double play.
"We had them kind of on the ropes and (Myers had) thrown about 14 balls out of the last 19 pitches he threw," Brewers manager Dale Sveum said. "So that's just part of maturing, sometimes as a hitter, but Corey is a very aggressive hitter, and unfortunately he hit a ground ball back to the pitcher and they were able to get out of that inning, and obviously that was a turning point in the ball game."
Sabathia managed to keep the Phillies scoreless in the first inning, despite allowing a one-out double to Victorino. But the left-hander imploded in the second frame.
Jayson Werth roped a one-out double to center and scored on Pedro Feliz's line smash double down the third-base line to tie the game. After Carlos Ruiz's groundout moved Feliz to third, Myers came to the plate, seemingly giving Sabathia a way out of the inning.
Myers fell in an 0-2 hole in the count, only to take a slider for a ball, and foul a pitch off. He took another slider low to even the count at 2-2 before fouling off another Sabathia offering. Another ball low set the count full and Myers walked on the next pitch.
"I know I'm a terrible hitter, but I really can't explain it," Myers said. "It was like one of those freakish things that I was able to lay off some good pitches that he made and able to extend his pitch count. And it's like one of those things where baseball's weird like that to where you can have a guy that pretty much can't hit a lick to go up there and battle a guy that's as good as CC. And it's just part of the game."
The nine-pitch at-bat was the apparent turning point, as Sabathia loaded the bases by walking Jimmy Rollins. Victorino batted next and drilled a high breaking ball into the left field stands to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead.
"I said 'Did that really just happen?' That's more than anything, it was just the excitement in the air," Victorino said. "Knowing that we got a little cushion on a guy like CC to get an early lead."
Said Sabathia of the pitch: "It was a cutter. I threw it in and didn't get it down, didn't bounce it, it was 0-2, 1-2, I don't know what the count was. I know it was two strikes. And just didn't make the pitch. When I saw it leave, I was just trying to keep the score right there where it was."
Sabathia got out of the inning without another run allowed, but got into more trouble in the fourth. A walk to Chase Utley loaded the bases with two outs, and Sabathia was removed for Mitch Stetter, who fanned Ryan Howard to end the frame.
The Phillies went without a run the rest of the game, despite having at least one runner in scoring position in each of the first six innings. But Myers shut down the Brewers after the first inning, setting them down in order in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings.
"Tonight I just tried to work down in the zone and go from there," Myers said. "And I was able to do it in my past bullpens before this outing. I felt pretty confident about going out there and locating fastballs and down in the zone."
In the seventh, Myers allowed a leadoff double to Hardy, who eventually scored on Craig Counsell's groundout to make it a 5-2 game.
Philadelphia's bullpen, though, finished out the game. Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero combined to throw a scoreless eighth, and Brad Lidge needed 12 pitches in the ninth to earn his second save of the playoffs.
Game Notes
Myers saw 19 pitches in his two at-bats against Sabathia...Victorino finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles...Werth ended with a pair of doubles...Utley and Howard combined to go 0-for-7 with six strikeouts...Braun finished 2- for-4...Attendance was 46,208, the largest crowd ever at Citizens Bank Park.
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In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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