MLB
Thursday, August 19
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Hot Lines: Today's best MLB bets
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San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies (-175, 8.5)
The Philadelphia Phillies are finally getting some good vibes after suffering through a terrible rash of injuries lately. Second baseman Chase Utely returned to the lineup on Tuesday, coming back two weeks early following surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. He was on the shelf since June 29.
"He's tough as nails," Philadelphia left fielder Raul Ibanez told reporters of Utely. "You knew he was going to do everything in his power to get back on the field. Everything about him that he brings is positive for the team. It's Chase. He brings himself. He's always preparing to be at his best to win that game."
It’ll probably take a while for Utely to find his groove, but his presence in the locker room alone should be enough to get Phillies supporters excited. He’s hitting .269 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs in 73 games this season.
Philadelphia has split the four-game season series with the Giants so far, taking both of the last two meetings. Cole Hamels faces off against Jonathan Sanchez. Hamels only has one win in his last 11 starts, but gave up more than four runs only once during that stretch.
Pick: Phillies
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins (-160, 8)
It’s no secret that there’s no love lost between the White Sox and Twins, but in case there was ever any confusion, Chicago bench boss Ozzie Guillen did a good job clearing that up in the press.
"It's not a friendly rivalry," Guillen told The Chicago Tribune. "I hate them. As soon as the game starts, we hate each other.
"They're my friends. I talk to them before the game. I talk to them after the game. I always have a smile with Gardy (Minnesota manager Rod Gardenhire) and the coaching staff. But as soon as the game starts, we're not friends anymore. We have a job to do."
Over the last little while, the White Sox have done a terrible job getting wins in Minnesota, going 5-21 over their last 26 visits. But Chicago is getting close to crunch time and it was a perfect time for Guillen to stoke the fire a bit with his club trailing Minnesota by eight games heading into Tuesday’s action, winning just three of its last 11.
Plus, Chicago has Carl Pavano on the hill Wednesday. Pavano is all business on the mound and has lost just once over his last five outings
Pick: White Sox
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Streaking and Slumping Pitchers
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Streaking
Ted Lilly, Los Angeles Dodgers (6-8, 3.44 ERA)
While the Los Angeles Dodgers may be slipping out of the playoff picture, it's to no fault of Ted Lilly. Since coming over from the Cubs at the trade deadline, Lilly has won all three of his starts, allowing just four total runs. He threw six shutout innings, holding Atlanta to three hits in a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves.
Travis Wood, Cincinnati Reds (3-1, 2.65 ERA)
Travis Wood is back in the bigs after a brief demotion to the minors to make room on the Reds' roster for Jim Edmonds. Cincinnati had good reason to get him back with the big club right away. Wood took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Cubs last week and has a 2.45 ERA over his last three starts. The lefty has thrown at least five innings in seven of his eight starts this year and has 40 strike outs under his belt compared to 13 walks.
Slumping
Sean West, Florida Marlins (0-2, 7.71 ERA)
Sean West seems to have conquered the strange control problems that plagued him in spring training while he was in the minors, but he isn't out of the woods yet. West, who literally couldn't get the ball over the plate no matter how many batters he faced this spring, has walked just four in two starts since being recalled on Aug. 1. Still, his ERA speaks for itself over 9 1/3 innings.
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This Day in Baseball
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On August 19 in Baseball History...
1909 - The Philadelphia Phillies were rained out for the 10th consecutive day, a major league record.
1911 - The Reds finally get to Christy Mathewson after 22 straight losses, beating him for the first time since May, 1908. Matty, after saving the 5-4 opener, starts the nightcap, goes five innings, and loses 7-4.
1913 - The Chicago Cubs tagged Grover Alexander for nine straight hits and six runs in a 10-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
1917 - Coaching third in a 1-1 game against Washington, Detroit's Ty Cobb gives Tiger base runner George Burns a shove when Burns stops at third on a long hit. Burns keeps going and scores the winning run for the Tigers. Clark Griffith protests, and Ban Johnson upholds him; the rules now ban coaches from touching a runner. The game is replayed, and Washington wins 2-0.
1921 - Ty Cobb gets hit number 3,000 off Boston pitcher Elmer Myers. At 34, he's the youngest ever to do so.
1931 - Lefty Grove wins his 16th consecutive game, tying the American League record set by Walter Johnson and Joe Wood in 1912.
1941 - Umpire Jocko Conlan ejects Pittsburgh Pirates manager Frankie Frisch from the second game of a doubleheader when he appears on the field with an umbrella to protest the playing conditions at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. The rainy argument is later portrayed in a famous oil painting by artist Norman Rockwell.
1945 - In the second game of a doubleheader against the Reds, 37-year-old slugger Jimmie Foxx pitches the first seven innings for Philadelphia. He leaves with a 4-1 lead, and Andy Karl saves Foxx's only major league decision. His ERA in 10 major league appearances is 1.52.
1951 - In his most interesting promotional stunt, Bill Veeck signs a three-foot, seven-inch midget, Eddie Gaedel, who goes to bat wearing the number 1/8 in the first inning of the nightcap with the Tigers. Lefty Bob Cain laughingly walks him on four pitches. Jim Delsing then pinch runs. Two days later the commissioner bars Eddie Gaedel from appearing in any more games.
1957 - New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham announced that the team's board of directors had voted 9-1 in favor of moving to San Francisco.
1965 - Reds pitcher Jim Maloney's second no-hit effort of 1965 is another 0-0 duel through nine innings, until Reds shortstop Leo Cardenas homers off the left field foul pole in the tenth at Wrigley Field. Jim Maloney's sets a no-hit record by allowing ten walks. He also fans twelve in Cincinnati's 1-0 win.
1969 - Ken Holtzman of the Cubs blanked the Atlanta Braves with a 3-0 no-hitter at Wrigley Field. Ron Santo's three-run homer in the first inning provided the Cubs' offense.
1990 - Bobby Thigpen recorded his 40th save as the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 4-2. Thigpen became the eighth — and fastest — to accomplish this feat.
1992 - Bret Boone made history when he became part of the first three-generation family to play in major league baseball. Boone is the grandson of Ray Boone, who played from 1948-60, and son of Bob Boone, from 1972-90. Bret, 23, started at second base for the Seattle Mariners against Baltimore.