Few would have picked the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins at the bottom of the NL East standings this early in the year, but after three combined blown saves, the preseason favorites are a combined 2-5 and looking to get out of a big hole.
The Phillies return for their home opener on Monday, and are favored by 1 1/2 runs according to the latest Marlins Phillies betting line with Cole Hamels returning to the mound.
The lefty, who is the only pitcher on staff with a World Series ring, World Series MVP and NLCS MVP, blushed when manager Charlie Manuel chose him for the home opener.
“I think it’s always an honor to be in the position to do leading off the season, especially if it’s at home,” Hamels said. “I’ve always wanted to.”
Hamels is favored to have more than six strikeouts in his 2012 debut, with a -105 payout. His counterpart, Anibal Sanchez is slated for around that amount also, at an over/under of 5 1/2 strikeouts.
He was supposed to pitch Game 3, but flipped with Vance Worley to give him a shot at pitching in front of a home crowd. Probably a good thing considering the hiccups the Phillies saw this weekend. After Roy Halladay aced the team’s road opener, Cliff Lee and Worley’s starts were foiled by the bullpen, coughing up both games in extra innings.
That’s something the Marlins can commiserate with. Their expensive closer Heath Bell, one of the three key free agent acquisitions, blew his first save opportunity against the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend.
“It was tough luck,” manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters. “We did everything we needed to do to win the game. If we play like that, if we play with fire and enthusiasm, we are going to win a lot of games.”
It’s the third home opener the Marlins will have been a part of in under a week, a whirlwind put together to tour the team’s new look. It seemed to be taking a toll early as they scored only three runs in the first three games, before finally breaking open with 13 over the past two.
The Phillies have struggled to score, plating just six runs and 20 hits in three games. With most of the team’s sluggers out due to injury, Hunter Pence will have to shoulder the load. He’s a longshot to hit a homer Monday at -1000. If he does, it’s a +600 payday for bettors.
Marlins vs. Phillies Betting Odds For April 9th, 2012 – available at Bovada
