Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies – MLB Free Pick – Friday April 1, 2011
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Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies
Friday, April 1, 2011 at 1:05 PM EST on MLB
Pitching Probables: Brett Myers vs Roy Halladay
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Not much is expected from the Houston Astros this season and it is pretty sad how the franchise has fallen after a very consistent run with the Killer B’s. Now their lineup is a mish mash of fading stars like Carlos Lee and players who have yet to reach expectations in Hunter Pence and Micheal Bourn. Still their lineup is probably better than their pitching staff. Former Phillie Brett Myers gets the call for the opener and he quietly had his best season in the majors last season. Things never panned out for him the way the way they were supposed to in Philly and he is the kind of guy who likes to stick to those who have wronged him in the past – case in point 9 Ks in 7 innnings in his lone start against Philadelphia last season, including the win. Philly isn’t as fearsome to start the season but he is going to have to out duel one of the best to get the win.
Since the acquisition of Cliff Lee everyone has been talking about the Phillies pitching and it should be fantastic led by opening day starter Roy Halladay. But now with Chase Utley out and Jayson Werth gone many are wondering if the Phillies have enough offense to back it up. I think they will find that they have more than enough and will use this series against the Astros to get things going in a big way. Halladay proved last year in the playoffs that he can certainly shine in when the lights are brightest and it should be business as usual leading off the season. Halladay went 1-1 against Houston last year and in what was a weird trend the visiting team won all the games in the season series. I expect that trend to be broken quickly in 2011 behind another great effort by Doc.
The odds makers have the money line Astros +220 & Phillies -260 with an run total of 7.
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Prediction: Hard not to like Doc and the Phillies on opening day but there isn’t much value backing them in this one.
Score Prediction:
Philadelphia – 4 / Houston – 1
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