Philadelphia is among the top favorites to win the 2011 World Series at +180 in MLB Futures Odds.

The Phillies certainly do have a pitching staff that is unrivaled by any team in the league. While they probably have the best set of starters in the league, it is probably an overstatement to say that the Phillies have 4 aces. The Phillies have three of the most feared pitchers in all of Major League Baseball between Halliday, Oswalt and Cliff Lee. The 4th pitcher in the discussion is Cole Hamels. While he is a great pitcher, he is probably not a top of the rotation starter at this point in his career.

With this pitching staff the Phillies will have the opportunity of sending an ace to the mound up to 3 times in a series. The thought that on the off days they will have pitchers of the caliber of Hamels is extremely encouraging for Philadelphia.

Not only does Philadelphia have one of the best pitching staffs, but they also have one of the best hitters in all of Major League Baseball.

Ryan Howard has proven the ability to hit homeruns and bat in runs with people on base over the course of his career. He is an annual candidate for MVP and he could be the key to this team. The Phillies need him to come up with regular production in order to support this excellent pitching staff.

The sportsbook betting lines predict this move will undoubtedly increase the Phillies chances of winning the 2011 World Series in MLB Betting Odds.

The 32-year old lefthander was traded last December 16th by Philadelphia to Seattle, then Seattle swapped him to the Texas Rangers this past July. Lee helped the Rangers reach their first World Series, but became a free agent on November 1st.

Most observers figured he couldn’t turn down what the New York Yankees would offer him. But on December 15th, a day shy of what would have been a year since they traded him, Cliff Lee became a Phillie once more.

Lee turned down offers from the Yankees and Rangers, both of which were reportedly significantly higher than what the Phillies offered. The length of the contract was a departure from Philadelphia’s traditional policy of not offering contracts of longer than three years, which is the length of Roy Halladay’s agreement from last year.

Lee’s addition to the Phillies’ starting rotation of Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt will no doubt make Philadelphia prohibitive favorites in the National League East Division. With 13 All-Star appearances among them and a combined 481-275 won-loss record, the potential for an incredibly formidable pitching staff is undeniable.

Lee’s contract reportedly contains a $12.5 million buyout clause as well as a $27.5 million option that kicks in if he pitches 200 innings in 2014 or a total of 400 innings combined in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. If he remains with Philadelphia for six seasons, the contract will pay him $135 million.

Halladay became just the fifth pitcher to win the CY Young in both leagues. He won the award in 2003 while with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Phillies ace received all 32 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, for a total of 224 points. Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals ended up with 122 points and Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies had 90 points.

Halladay led the NL with 21 wins and led Major League Baseball in innings, shutouts and complete games. He was acquired by the Phillies from the Blue Jays last December and immediately given a $60 million, three-year contract extension,

In May of this past season, he threw a perfect game against the Florida Marlins, and threw another perfect game against the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Division Series last month.

San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum, who won the past two NL Cy Youngs, finished 11th.

Halladay went 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA and 219 strikeouts in his first season in the NL. The 33-year-old right-hander pitched 250 2/3 innings, nine complete games and four shutouts, living up to his billing for excellence and durability.

In the NLDS series against the Braves the Giants used spectacular pitching and timely hitting to get past the NL Wildcard team in 4 games, while the Phillies wasted no time in defeating the Cincinnati Reds in a 3 game sweep behind the no-hitter of Roy Halladay and complete game shutout of Cole Hamels in game 3.

The championship series is set to be one of the better National League Championship Series in recent years. Philadelphia is hoping to win their 3rd straight NL pennant behind their outstanding pitching staff that features Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Hamels. The Giants are no slouch in the pitching department either riding their ace Tim Lincecum in recent weeks. Add in pitchers Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Maddison Bumgarner and the Giants have the arms to compete in this 7 game series.

The season series between these two teams was dead even at 3-3, with both home teams winning 2 games and losing only 1. The closely contested regular season games are leading baseball analysts to believe that this will be a close series and come down to a 7th game.

With the extra time off between series both managers will be able to set their starting rotations the way they want them. Chances are the pitching order for both teams in first three games will look like this:

Game 1 – Lincecum vs Halladay
Game 2 – Cain vs Oswalt
Game 3 – Sanchez vs Hamels

Once it gets to game 4 all pitching rotations have the chance to get thrown out the window as one or both teams may feel that the next game is a must win for their club.

Beginning this Friday the Braves will start a nine-game road trip in New York where they will take on the Mets. The road as not been very kind to the Braves as they have a 31-41 road record and will be facing a good home team in the Mets who have a 42-27 record and their home ballpark.

It is also important for the Braves to not look ahead past the New York Mets to their upcoming 3 game series with Phillies next week. While it has been a disappointing season once again in New York, there is ample motivation to finish above the .500 mark and take a few games against the Braves, reducing their playoff chances.

The pitching match ups look to be in Atlanta’s favor this weekend as they will send their two best starters to the mound in Hudson and Lowe. The match ups for all three games are as follows:

Friday – Hanson vs Niese
Saturday – Hudson vs Gee
Sunday – Lowe vs Dickey

It should be an exciting couple of weeks for the Atlanta Braves and their fans as they see if their team can make a playoff run.

From Cincinnati, the Cardinals (52-41) regained the division lead and pushed their record above .500. By hitting four homers, St. Louis continued its post-All-Star game surge on Monday, for its season-high sixth straight victory, 8-4 over the Phillies. The Phillies (48-44) are looking for better results on the road, while the Cardinals try to win seven in a row for the first time since July 7-16, 2006.

The way the Cardinals are playing, getting back on track could be hard. as St. Louis goes for its first seven-game home winning streak since a nine-game run April 9-25, 2009, as St. Louis goes for its first seven-game home winning streak since a nine-game run April 9-25, 2009. Following back-to-back losses to open July, the veteran right-hander said he is feeling better with his mechanics. With a 5.73 ERA in eight starts against Philadelphia, Carpenter is 4-2, which he has not faced since 2006.

With the 47-year-old left-hander, Jamie Moyer (9-9, 4.88), Philadelphia look to counter. His last two outings, he has lost his last three starts and has a 14.04 ERA. In three innings of Thursday’s 12-6 loss at the Chicago Cubs, he allowed six runs. For the Cardinals in 1991, Moyer was 0-5 with a 5.74 ERA. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia first baseman went 2 for 5 on Monday to improve his lifetime batting average at Busch Stadium to .382.

Bottom line here is this should be a god game so make sure you get in on the action and check the latest MLB baseball betting odds.

In a 1-0 win, Roy Halladay threw the majors’ 20th perfect game when his Phillies matched up against Johnson’s Marlins 13 days ago. As two of the NL’s top starters square off after rain postponed Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia, another pitchers’ duel could be on tap.

Halladay (8-3, 2.03 ERA) took the mound at Sun Life Stadium on May 29, to his credit already he had a Cy Young Award and six All-Star selections, although in baseball immortality, he cemented his place, 115 pitches later.

In NL history, the right-hander threw the eighth perfect game and Philadelphia’s second. While he outshined an impressive effort from Johnson, he struck out 11 Marlins.

“It’s unreal how he just goes about his business, it’s all business, know what I mean? No messing around, no joking around. He’s there for one reason. He’s there to finish the game, pretty much, which is very impressive to watch “, said Johnson (6-2, 2.10).

Even though Halladay’s follow-up was still good enough to lift the Phillies (31-26), it was quite ordinary by his standards. Striking out seven, he gave up 2 runs and 10 hits over seven innings, in a 3-2 win over San Diego on Friday.

Johnson in his last outing at Citizens Bank Park gave up five runs over 4 2/3 innings, although in five career appearances in Philadelphia, he is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In a 10-8 loss, Florida (28-31) had 13 hits, three from prized outfield prospect Mike Stanton, but blew leads of 6-3 and 8-7.

Against the Philadelphia Phillies, Jon Garland might have a hard time, even if Phillies’ offense still slumping. For the first time Saturday night, Garland looks to defeat Philadelphia, when the NL West-leading San Diego Padres try to snap a six-game skid to the Phillies.

Garland (6-2, 2.15 ERA), who is 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA in his last nine outings has been the big reason for San Diego’s surprising start. Against the Phillies, the right-hander, though, is 0-3 with an 8.02 ERA in four starts. He went 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA in two last year with Arizona. For Philadelphia, it is their third baseman Placido Polanco, who is 14 for 37 against him. In Garland’s last nine outings with a 3-2, the Padres (32-22) improved to 8-1. Against Washington on Sunday, he allowed two runs over seven innings, both on homers. His streak of eight straight starts without yielding one came to an end.

With a 3-2 victory Friday, the Phillies halted a four-game losing streak. In seven innings, Roy Halladay struck out seven. Bases-loaded walk in the fifth, Shane Victorino homered and scored the go-ahead run on Jayson Werth’s two-out. Without scoring more than three runs, Philadelphia has gone 12 straight games. The Phillies are hitting .197 in that span and had six hits.

“I feel really good right now, that was the situation I was hoping to have. It was nice to get a save against some real good hitters. We need to win the close games, too “, said Brad Lidge.

Over San Diego, Philadelphia has won six in a row since Lidge blew a save in an 8-5 home loss April 18, 2009. For the first time since May 7-25, 2009, Phillies starter Jamie Moyer (5-5, 4.26) will try to avoid losing four straight starts. Posting a 3.50 ERA, Moyer hasn’t pitched too badly. On Sunday, at Florida, he allowed one run over six innings in a 1-0 loss. In two starts against the Padres at Citizens Bank Park, Moyer is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA.

The NL-leading Philadelphia Phillies’ impressive record this month, an improved Kyle Kendrick has contributed quite a lot. When facing the Boston Red Sox, Kendrick, though, has been far from his best. On Saturday night, Kendrick will try to help the Phillies take their first series over the Red Sox in nearly seven years. In interleague play, The Phillies also snapped a six-game home skid and earned their second win there in the past 15 games against AL opponents. In three outings in May, earning both wins at home, Kendrick is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA.

In his only career start against the Phillies, Daisuke Matsuzaka nearly beat them, but a rain delay, limited him to four innings in an 11-6 victory. In that matchup, he gave seven hits and four runs. Jacoby Ellsbury is expected to be back in the lineup for the first time since April 11 for Boston. He was 5 for 13 (.385) with a homer and four RBIs in last season’s series in Philadelphia.

Ellsbury told the Red Sox’s official website, “I’m not afraid of contact. Never have been, never will be, I’m just happy to get back out there “. at home since sweeping the Chicago White Sox on June 11-13, 2007, Philadelphia has not won an interleague series.

Philadelphia Phillies get another weapon in their team’s lineup. Jimmy Rollins has returned after five weeks. At Citizens Bank Park, in Roy Halladay’s first three starts, he was nearly untouchable. When the Phillies try to complete a brief two-game sweep of the Pirates, he will look to improve to 4-0. With flu-like symptoms, Monday’s opener against Pittsburgh was missed by Chase Utley. Rollins did a great job and hardly looked rusty even though he was on DL with a strained calf. He had two hits and an RBI. Manager Charlie Manuel has to do some shuffling in the lineup with Utley’s return.

For the ninth time, the Pittsburgh Pirates were held to five hits or fewer. Andrew McCutchen went 0 for 4 and it lowered his average this month to .396. The rest of the team is hitting .211. On Pittsburgh’s rotation, even more pressure was put on because of that lack of production. With a 2.37 ERA, the left-hander Zach Duke (2-4, 5.56) was 2-0, through his first four starts. In a 5-0 loss to Cincinnati, on Wednesday, Duke over his five innings gave up five runs and nine hits, two homers. In four career starts versus Philadelphia, Duke is 1/3 with a 4.78 ERA. In 19 combined at-bats (.211), he has held Utley and Rollins to four hits. The team’s two RBIs leaders, Werth and Victorino, with three extra-base hits combined 6 for 10 against Duke and that makes for some pretty fine betting.