Howard, Phillies seek to heat up versus Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - September is the time of year for temperatures to drop, but for Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard it's his month to start heating up.

Howard and the Phillies will shoot for back-to-back winning series Wednesday afternoon in the finale of a three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.

Howard ended a lengthy home run drought in last night's 8-4 win over Los Angeles with a three-run blast in the third inning, his first home run since July 27. Howard had just one RBI and 16 K's since then before crushing an offering from Dodgers reliever Ramon Troncoso.

"I felt like I've had some good at-bats and good swings over the last five, six games," Howard said. "I've just been hitting balls right at people. I was able to just get one, connect and get it over everybody I guess."

He guessed right, and now it's time to see if the All-Star first baseman can keep up his fall numbers. In 162 regular-season games in September and October in his career, Howard has batted .314 with 52 home runs and 141 RBI. The late production has been key to Philadelphia's consecutive trips to the World Series.

Brian Schneider gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead with a three-run homer in the second inning last night and Carlos Ruiz drove in a pair of runs to keep them 1 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the wild card standings. Kyle Kendrick got the start and picked up his ninth win (9-7) even though he gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings for the Phils, who entered this series fresh off a three-game sweep at San Diego.

The Phillies, currently three games behind Atlanta for the NL East lead, hope to see a better pitching display from veteran All-Star Roy Oswalt when he takes the LA mound today. Oswalt is 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in six starts since coming over from Houston and is unbeaten in his last five starts (3-0) -- all Philadelphia wins. He threw eight innings of one-run ball and struck out six in last Friday's 3-2 win at San Diego.

Oswalt beat the Dodgers back on August 11, hurling seven shutout innings and striking out five in a 2-0 triumph. The righty is 7-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 11 career matchups (10 starts) against Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers have dropped three of four games and are 6 1/2 games behind the Phillies for the NL Wild Card lead. Carlos Monasterios tried to replicate what starter Hiroki Kuroda was able to do in a series-opening win, but was yanked after two innings for giving up five runs and five hits.

"Monasterios is still learning," said Dodgers manager Joe Torre. "We crept back into it, but we just couldn't keep the pressure on them when they scored those last two runs."

James Loney hit a two-run homer and finished with three RBI in defeat.

Hoping to get Los Angeles back on track Wednesday afternoon will be Clayton Kershaw, who has lost three of his last four decisions. He did factor in the outcome of last Friday's 6-2 win at Colorado and limited the Rockies to a run on five hits and two walks in six innings.

Kershaw is 11-8 with a 3.01 earned run average in 27 starts this season and squared off with the Phillies on August 12 at Citizens Bank Park. The lefty allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings for the no-decision and is 0-3 in five career starts in this series.

The Phillies took two of three meetings with Los Angeles in that series last month and, of course, have beaten the Dodgers in each of the past two National League Championship Series.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

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