Cards, Phils open NLDS in Philadelphia

Baseball Betting Lines

10/01/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Halladay opened last year's postseason with a no- hitter, but his year ultimately ended in disappointment. He's hoping for a different ending this time around.

Armed with one of the best starting rotations ever the Philadelphia Phillies enter this year's playoffs as the odds-on favorites to win a World Series title. That quest begins on Saturday when they open the National League Division Series against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.

"I know you come out and play 162 games and you get to this point, this is the fun part," Halladay said. "Yeah, I think we're looking forward to it. Obviously the ultimate goal is to give ourselves a chance to win a World Series."

Halladay produced yet another terrific season, as he went 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA, ranking first in the NL in complete games (eight) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.29), was second in ERA and innings (223 2/3), third in wins and strikeouts (220), and fourth in WHIP (1.04).

The amazing right-hander, of course, no-hit the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of last season's NLDS in his first-ever postseason appearance. After sweeping that set, though, the Phillies were denied a third straight NL pennant when they lost to the eventual world champion San Francisco Giants in the NLCS.

As if Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt weren't enough Philadelphia went out this offseason added another ace in left-hander Cliff Lee, who had helped the Phillies to an NL Pennant in 2009 before being moved when the team acquired Halladay before the start of last season.

The pitching staff was as advertised and the Phillies captured their fifth straight National League East title and won a franchise-record 102 games this season. But, as good as the starting rotation was, there are concerns with the offense, as the Phillie' 713 runs scored were the fewest among NL playoff teams.

"We've had a big season, but at the same time, we still have a lot of work to do," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Our ultimate goal is to go to the World Series and win, and I think we're sitting in a pretty good position. It's up to us to go get it."

Now they face St. Louis team that needed all 162 games and an epic collapse by the Atlanta Braves to secure the National League's final playoff spot. The Cards found themselves 10 1/2 games back of Atlanta on August 25, but went 23-8 to close the season and secured the wild card when the Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the Braves with a dramatic extra inning win on Wednesday.

St. Louis enters the postseason a bit banged up, as shortstop Rafael Furcal (hamstring) and outfielder Matt Holliday (hand) are both nursing injuries. The Cards, though, are still led by three-time MVP Albert Pujols (.299, 37 HR, 99 RBI) and the resurgent Lance Berkman (.301, 31 HR, 94 RBI).

"I heard a quote a long time ago," Halladay said. "'I came here to bury Caesar, not praise him.' I think it's true. We're all well aware of how good [St. Louis] is. We obviously have a respect for what they've done and how they've played, but you have to be confident going in that you're going to be able to beat them. You have to be confident the guys around you feel the same way."

Hoping to match Halladay tonight will be righty Kyle Lohse, who was 14-8 with a 3.39 ERA, 111 strikeouts and 42 walks in 188 1/3 innings this season. Lohse made 30 starts for the first time since 2008 and ended his year strong, winning six of his final seven decisions and outdueled Halladay in Philadelphia on September 19. He gave up just an unearned un over 7 1/3 innings in that one.

"For it to come to this point where I'm starting Game 1 of a playoff series, that's pretty special to me and something that I've worked hard for," Lohse said, "going through the injury and having a surgery that no one has heard of and all this stuff. It's pretty personally gratifying to be able to come to this point and be where I'm at right now."

He is just 3-4 lifetime versus Philadelphia with a 3.43 ERA in 10 starts.

St. Louis won six of its nine meetings with the Phillies this season, including three of the four matchups in Philadelphia.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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