Phillies try to even series with Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

07/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies needed some late heroics to stop the Chicago Cubs yesterday afternoon and hope that the momentum will carry over into this evening's finale of a four-game series from Wrigley Field.

The Phillies trailed 1-0 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning before scoring four runs to take the lead for good. Placido Polanco, who was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game, had an RBI single and Ross Gload scored on a wild pitch. Jayson Werth later walked with the bases loaded to plate a run and Raul Ibanez put a lid on the scoring with an RBI single for a 4-1 edge.

Closer Brad Lidge allowed a walk in the bottom of the ninth before recoding his seventh save of the season. Cole Hamels was sharp through seven scoreless innings, as he allowed seven hits with five K's and two walks. Chad Durbin worked a scoreless eighth inning to grab the win.

"It's tremendous," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of the win. "We gotta win some games. Every game we win from here on out is huge. We're chasing two teams and we need to put together some wins if we're going to stay in this thing."

Werth and Ibanez both ended with two hits and an RBI for the Phillies, who ended a two-game slide and won for the fifth time in seven tries. They are now 4 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the NL East lead, with the New York Mets lurking at five games off the pace.

Taking the hill for Manuel's club tonight will be ace Roy Halladay. Halladay is only 2-4 in his last six decisions and did not figure into the decision the last time out in a 1-0 win over Cincinnati despite tossing nine innings and giving up five hits. The righty also fanned nine batters.

Halladay is 10-7 with a 2.19 ERA in 19 starts this season and will try for his first career victory over the Cubs. In two career starts against Chicago he is 0-2 with a 3.00 earned run average.

Chicago suffered its first loss on the 10-game homestand (2-1) and wasted a superb effort from starter Randy Wells on Saturday. Wells delivered seven shutout innings and struck out five in the no-decision, while Carlos Marmol was the culprit in the ninth, allowing four runs on one hit and five walks to suffer the loss.

"Sometimes he's effectively wild," staff mate Sean Marshall said of Marmol on the team's site. "Today, he was picking at the corners a little bit. With a lineup like the Phillies have, you have to stay ahead of them. He knows what he has to do. He's done it so well this year and last year and his entire career."

Ryan Theriot had the lone RBI for the Cubs in the seventh inning, while Derrek Lee, Marlon Byrd and Starlin Castro had two hits apiece in defeat.

Tom Gorzelanny will try to pitch the Cubs to a series triumph when he takes the hill Sunday. Gorzelanny has won two straight appearances and previously toed the rubber on July 10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the 7-3 win at Dodger Stadium, he gave up two runs -- one earned -- in six innings to improve to 4-5 in 18 games (12 starts) to go along with a 3.16 ERA.

The left-hander beat the Phillies on May 19 this season on the road, as he tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings in his team's 4-1 win. Gorzelanny is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two career starts against Philadelphia. He is just 1-3 in the Windy City this season.

Chicago, which will also host Houston and St. Louis, is 10 games off the lead in the NL Central Division.

The Phillies had a five-game winning streak at Wrigley Field halted with Thursday's loss, but have still won nine of the past 13 meetings between the ballclubs.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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