08/27/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Coste was 4-for-4 off the bench and drove in the game-winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the New York Mets, 8-7, in the opener of a pivotal two-game set at Citizens Bank Park.
Jimmy Rollins tied a career-high with five hits and added three RBI and three stolen bases for the Phillies, who moved a half-game ahead of the Mets for first place in the National League East. Rollins and Ryan Howard each hit two- run homers as Philadelphia won for the seventh time in eight games on their current nine-game homestand.
Damion Easley and Fernando Tatis homered for the Mets, who have dropped three of their last four. Easley finished with four hits and Tatis collected four RBI.
The Phillies erased a seven-run deficit with eight unanswered runs to end the game. Shane Victorino led off the 13th with a triple and the Mets then decided to intentionally walk Jayson Werth and Eric Bruntlett to load the bases with no outs. Scott Schoeneweis struck out pinch-hitter Brett Myers, who appeared just to be looking for a walk, as he worked a full count and did not take the bat off his shoulders. Then with the outfield drawn in, Coste hit the ball over the head of center fielder Carlos Beltran as Victorino was greeted at the plate.
Rudy Seanez (5-3) earned the win with a perfect inning of work, while Schoeneweis (2-3) suffered the defeat after yielding the one run on two hits and two walks in just one-third of an inning.
The Phillies trailed 7-6 heading into the ninth inning, but kept the game going with a two-out rally. After Luis Ayala retired Howard and Victorino, Werth got it going with a single up the middle and Bruntlett then tied the game as he came off the bench with a pinch-hit double.
Pedro Martinez tossed the first five innings for the Mets in which he allowed five runs, seven hits and two walks, while striking out eight.
Jamie Moyer started for the Phils and avoided the loss despite being tagged for six runs on nine hits in only three innings of work. The 45-year-old lefty, who struck out three, gave up more than three runs for the first time in 15 starts.
The Mets opened up the scoring right away with two runs on four hits in the first inning. Jose Reyes led off the game with his league-leading 16th triple and came around one batter later on a Easley single to right. Easley then moved to second via a base hit by David Wright, was forced to third when Carlos Delgado was hit by a pitch and came around on a Tatis one-out single.
Easley belted a two-out, solo home run in the second to give the Mets a 3-0 edge.
In the third, New York jumped out to a 6-0 advantage. After consecutive singles to start the inning by Beltran and Delgado, Tatis plated the two runners with a three-run homer into the left-field seats.
The Mets then scored for the fourth straight inning to push their lead to 7-0. Easley led off with a triple off the center-field wall and raced home one batter later on a Wright groundout.
The Phillies finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Pedro Feliz. Victorino crossed the plate when he reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and moved to third on a Werth single.
In the fifth, Charlie Manuel's squad cut the deficit to 7-5 thanks to a pair of two-run homers by Rollins and Howard. Clay Condrey led off with a double and came around when Rollins followed with his ninth homer of the season. Chase Utley kept it going with a walk and after a Pat Burrell strikeout, Howard blasted his 35th home of the year to the opposite field.
The Phillies continued chipping away with a run in the eighth to make it a 7-6 affair. Carlos Ruiz smacked a one-out single and moved to second when Coste came off the bench with another base hit. Rollins then brought in Ruiz with the inning's third straight single, but Utley struck out and Burrell flied out to keep the Mets on top.
Rollins entered this past Monday's game in a 4-for-46 (.087) slump, but has gone 8-for-10 in the last two games to bring his average up to .268.
Game Notes
The Mets have scored in the first inning in 88 of their 132 games...Easley hit his first triple since the 2006 season in the fourth inning and collected four hits in a game for the first time since June 3, 2006...Ramon Castro left the game with a hamstring injury in the fifth for the Mets...Condrey tallied the first extra-base hit of his career with the double in the fifth...It was the 44th sellout of the year, tying a franchise record from 1994.
<< Browns' Anderson returns to practice
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson
returned to practice on Tuesday.
Anderson, who had been out since he left a game against the New York Giants on
August 18 with a concussion, made a brief appearan
<< It wasn't in the Cards; Milwaukee crushes St. Louis
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun and Bill Hall each clubbed two-run
homers, and Ben Sheets tossed six solid innings, as the Milwaukee Brewers
pounded the St. Louis Cardinals, 12-0, in the opener of a quick two-game set
at Busc
<< Millwood goes the distance as Texas downs KC
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Millwood went the distance for the
second straight time and Milton Bradley drove in a run to lead the Texas
Rangers in a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the middle installment
of a th
<< Bay, Red Sox take opener from Yankees
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Bailey and Jason Bay drove in two runs
apiece to lead the Boston Red Sox past the New York Yankees, 7-3, in the
opener of a three-game series that will serve as the final meeting
between
Pads don't get sucked into Webb of lies, crush D'Backs >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Giles hit a three-run homer and Kevin
Kouzmanoff drove in three runs, as the San Diego Padres spoiled Brandon Webb's
bid for his 20th win with a 9-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the
continu
Atkins, Hawpe lead streaking Rockies over Giants in SF >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins drove in two runs and
Brad Hawpe finished 2-for-2 with a double, three walks and three runs scored,
as the Colorado Rockies defeated the San Francisco Giants, 7-2, in the middle
test of
Lackey and Angels cruise past A's >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lackey recorded his 13th career complete
game to help the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim down the Oakland Athletics in a
5-1 victory in the second of a three-game set.
Lackey (11-2) scattered seven hits
Angels' Anderson has tendinitis in knee >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angels left fielder Garret Anderson underwent
an MRI on Tuesday that revealed tendinitis in his left knee.
Anderson injured the knee when he made an outfield assist in the first inning
of Sunday's 5-3 win ov
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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