Strangle Hold
With the Philadelphia Phillies atop the NL East, Ryan Howard is bidding to win his second MVP award in three years. Facing the Atlanta Braves continues to help his cause.
Howard and the Phillies look to extend a season-high six-game winning streak and beat the Braves for the ninth straight time at Turner Field in the finale of a three-game series Thursday night.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Philadelphia -200 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 52% of bets for this game have been placed on Philadelphia -200 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Philadelphia’s rise back to the top of the NL East has given more legitimacy to Howard’s MVP hopes. The slugging first baseman, who won the NL MVP in 2006, has 29 RBIs in his last 21 games and 137 on the season to lead the majors.
On Wednesday, Howard drove in the first run in the Phillies’ four-run first inning in a 6-1 win over Atlanta (67-85), giving Philadelphia (85-67) its sixth straight win as it held on to a one-half game division lead over the New York Mets.
Howard is hitting .373 (22-for-59) with six home runs and 22 RBIs in 14 games versus the Braves this season. He is batting .347 with 23 home runs and 69 RBIs in 62 career games against them.
Howard has helped Philadelphia go 12-2 against Atlanta this year, tying the 1956 and ’65 Phillies for the club’s most single-season victories over the Braves. Philadelphia will now try to finish 9-0 at Turner Field in 2008, and win seven straight overall for the first time since a nine-game run from April 30-May 9, 2006.
"I don’t know how to explain it," Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur told the team’s official Web site. "Last year we won all three games (in Philadelphia) to start the year, and since then I don’t think we’ve won a series against them."
Cole Hamels (13-9, 3.11 ERA), who will take the mound for the Phillies, has played a large role in their success against the Braves. Hamels is 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA in three starts versus the Braves this season, and 5-2 with a 3.60 ERA in nine career starts against them.
The left-hander has given up two runs or less in six of his last seven starts overall.
In his last outing, Hamels allowed two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings to earn a win as Philadelphia beat Milwaukee 7-3 on Saturday.
Atlanta will counter with Mike Hampton (2-2, 5.34 ERA), who is 10-7 with a 3.30 ERA in 27 starts and three relief appearances against Philadelphia.
The left-hander walked a season-high five batters in his last start, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings as Atlanta beat New York 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday. Hampton did not receive a decision.
Hampton will try to spark a Braves team that has lost 23 of 35 games. But with the veteran having trouble pitching deep into games, Atlanta could use a big game at the plate.
On Wednesday, the Braves didn’t get a runner in scoring position until Casey Kotchman’s leadoff double in the fifth.
Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones, though, went 1-for-3 and is hitting .365 to increase his lead over St. Louis’ Albert Pujols by 11 points for the majors’ best batting average. Pujols went 0-for-4 at Cincinnati.
Jones is batting .433 (13-for-30) with three home runs and five RBIs in nine games against Philadelphia this year.
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