Phils eye first place in doubleheader with Marlins
Baseball Betting Lines
09/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even when Roy Oswalt is off his game, he is still pretty darn good. The Philadelphia Phillies pitcher might get a chance tonight to put his team back into sole possession of first place in the National League East.
Set to pitch the back end of today's day/night doubleheader versus the Florida Marlins, Oswalt will try to win his fifth consecutive decision as Philadelphia kicks off a four-game set against Florida at Citizens Bank Park.
Oswalt was acquired from the Astros prior to the non-waiver trade deadline to boost a starting rotation that already features Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. The Phillies, who enter this set one game back of first-place Atlanta, hoped the acquisition of the three-time All-Star would help guide the club to a fourth straight NL East title and third straight NL pennant.
Philadelphia hasn't been in sole possession of first place since May 30, a position it hopes to hold after tonight if it can sweep this doubleheader and the Braves lose at Pittsburgh.
Though Oswalt was roughed up for a loss in his Phillies debut in late July, he is 4-0 with a 1.30 earned run average in six starts since and is coming off a victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday. The 33-year-old held Los Angeles to just a hit over 6 1/3 innings, but did walk six while striking out the same number.
"I was a little wild and had no command of my fastball," Oswalt said after that game. When I got in trouble I went with the breaking ball. That's the advantage of having four pitches -- when one isn't working you can go to another one. I was able to put enough movement on the ball to keep them off- balance."
The right-hander, who has allowed just one run over his last 21 1/3 innings, is 10-13 with a 3.01 ERA in 27 combined starts in 2010 and 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his three starts at Citizens Bank Park this season.
Oswalt did face the Marlins in a Phillies uniform on Aug. 5 and got a no- decision after yielding two runs over 6 1/3 innings. He is 6-4 with a 3.66 ERA in 13 career starts against Florida.
Florida will counter Oswalt with Anibal Sanchez, who has also pitched well as of late. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA over his last three starts and after consecutive victories, is coming off a no-decision versus Washington on Tuesday despite seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball. Sanchez also struck out seven to just one walk.
The 26-year-old is 11-8 with a 3.14 ERA this year, matching a career high for wins, and 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA in three starts versus the Phillies in 2010. Sanchez gave up five runs over six innings in his last outing at Philadelphia, getting a loss on April 16.
Today's doubleheader was made necessary when the middle contest of a slated three-game set in Philadelphia on June 9 was postponed. The first meeting between the two teams today is expected to feature a pair of pitchers making their first major league starts.
Going for Florida is Adalberto Mendez, who is making his MLB debut after pitching in the minors since 2003. The 28-year-old went 0-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 12 relief outings this year with Double-A Jacksonville before moving up a level to New Orleans, where Mendez went 5-4 with a 4.14 ERA in 28 games, including nine starts.
"He's a power pitcher, who can throw between 93 and 95 [mph]," Marlins interim manager Edwin Rodriguez told Florida's website of the righty he managed in the minors. "He's got an average changeup and slider."
Though Vance Worley is expected to make his first start in the day game for the Phillies, the third-round pick in 2008 did get his first taste of the majors back on July 24, striking out two over a perfect inning of relief versus Colorado.
The 22-year-old righty went 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 19 starts with Double-A Reading this year and 1-3 with a 3.77 ERA in eight starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Worley will try to help the Phillies get back in the win column after they failed to notch a three-game sweep of the Brewers on Sunday, falling 6-2 to snap a five-game winning streak.
Carlos Ruiz drove in both Philadelphia runs with a double in the second inning and Kyle Kendrick allowed five runs over just four innings as the Phils suffered just their second loss in 10 games. They now lead the NL Wild Card race by just two games over San Francisco after the Giants defeated Los Angeles last night.
The Marlins kept the Phillies' deficit for first place in the NL East at one after knocking off the Braves, 7-6, in 10 innings on Sunday to take two of three in the series.
Emilio Bonifacio led off the 10th inning with a triple, but a foul ball during his at-bat struck teammate Logan Morrison in the left cheek. Morrison was 3- for-4 with a pair of doubles, a triple, an RBI and two runs scored, but was unable to bat. Instead, Scott Cousins' drove in Bonifacio for the winning run with a single, the first hit of his big league career, for Florida's fourth victory in five games.
"I don't think I had time to really put pressure on myself," Cousins said. "I don't know if anyone really expected much out of me in that situation, but I did and hopefully the rest of the team did, and fortunately I was able to get the job done."
Hanley Ramirez clubbed a two-run homer and drove in three runs. The Florida shortstop is batting a scorching .512 (22-for-43) with four homers and 12 RBI over a 12-game hitting streak and is a career .400 hitter (10- for-25) off Oswalt with a pair of homers and five RBI.
The Phillies notched a three-game sweep in Miami the last time these clubs met and own a 7-4 edge in the season series.
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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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