Phillies Send Out Myers
The Philadelphia Phillies could have the right person on the mound to help them bounce back from their most recent defeat.
Brett Myers tries for his fifth consecutive victory in the deciding game of the Phillies’ three-game home set with the Florida Marlins on Wednesday afternoon.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Philadelphia -150 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 78% of bets for this game have been placed on Philadelphia -150 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
In a game it trailed by eight runs, Philadelphia (79-66) tried to come back only to fall 10-8 to Florida on Tuesday. The result dropped the Phillies 2 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets, who beat Washington also on Tuesday.
"We have to keep fighting until someone tells us to go home," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said of his team that has still won three of its last five contests. "We fought like heck to get back, but we couldn’t get the big hit to catch up."
The Phillies look to Brett Myers (9-10, 4.19 ERA) to help them rebound as he tries to continue his recent dominance. Myers is 6-1 with a 1.55 ERA in nine starts since returning from his demotion to the minors because of early-season struggles.
He allowed three hits while striking out 10 in eight innings of a 3-0 road win over the Mets on Friday to improve to 4-0 with a 0.58 ERA since losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 14.
"I always knew I could do it. I had to go down there to get in shape to see if I could do it at this level," said the right-hander, who is 6-7 with a 4.86 ERA in 20 starts versus Florida and 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA this season.
On Tuesday, Jorge Cantu hit a three-run home run, while Mike Jacobs and Cody Ross homered for the second straight game as Florida (73-72) snapped a three-game losing streak. Dan Uggla added three hits and three RBIs for the Marlins.
Jacobs is hitting .333 (8-for-24) with four doubles and two homers against Myers for his career, while Uggla is batting .320 (8-for-25) with two home runs and six RBIs versus him.
Florida is 8-6 against Philadelphia this year, splitting eight meetings on the road.
Ricky Nolasco (13-7, 3.56) has not factored in the decision of his last two starts but will again try for his third straight winning decision for Florida. He allowed one run and six hits in seven innings of a 4-1, 11-inning victory at St. Louis on Friday.
"Ricky threw a great game," Jacobs told the Marlins’ official Web site. "He has been solid for us all year."
The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA in three starts this season versus the Phillies.
Ryan Howard’s two-run homer Tuesday was his major league-leading 41st of the season while giving him an NL-best 125 RBIs. He has eight home runs and 21 RBIs over his last 18 games and his only two career hits in 10 at-bats versus Nolasco left the park.
Howard is hitting .300 with 10 RBIs at home against the Marlins in 2008.
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