The Philadelphia Phillies have the National League East all but locked up. However, they still have something to play for against last-place Houston Tuesday. <\/p>\n
Bet ON MLB \u2013 Phillies vs. Astros Preview & Pick<\/strong> Philadelphia Phillies (94-49)<\/strong> Well, Cole Hamels does. Along with teammates Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, he\u2019ll need some stellar September performances to catch the streaking Clayton Kershaw in the NL Cy Young race.<\/p>\n Hamels has an uncharacteristically high 4.74 lifetime ERA over four trips to Minute Maid Park. But does that number mean anything? It reflects previous battles against competitive Astros teams. The current team\u2019s bones have been picked clean. Former Astros pillars Hunter Pence and Roy Oswalt now wear Phillies jerseys.<\/p>\n The only remaining Houston regular with any track record of success against Hamels is Carlos Lee, who bats only .250 off him but does have two homers and nine RBI in 20 at-bats.<\/p>\n Houston Astros (14-7, 2.60)<\/strong> Tuesday will mark the second straight day that a former Phillie will start against his old team for Houston. These two teams sure love trading with each other. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n J.A. Happ is a shadow of his former self, the tricky lefty who once spiced up the back of Philly\u2019s rotation. In Houston, he\u2019s a sad story. He can\u2019t hit the plate ad he allows homers galore.<\/p>\n He did beat the Phillies the one time he faced him since being traded, allowing two earned runs over 6.1 innings.<\/p>\n PHI are 11-1 in their last 12 Tue. games. I\u2019d like to see a bigger sample size before trusting Happ against his old team. He\u2019s been positively bad this year and the Phillies\u2019 lineup has been more dangerous since Pence joined the fray.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, though Hamels hasn\u2019t excelled against Houston in the past, he\u2019ll be facing a punchless lineup on Tuesday. Lee\u2019s 15 homers and 81 RBI lead the team this season. Aside from that, no other Astro has more than 10 homers or 38 RBI. No one in his lineup can hurt Hamels.<\/p>\n
\nDate: <\/strong>Tuesday, September 13, 2011
\nVenue: <\/strong>Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
\nBroadcast: <\/strong>WPHL, FSH
\nPhiladelphia Phillies at Houston Astros Betting Lines from Bet Online.com<\/strong>
\nMoney Line: Phillies -210<\/strong>
\nOver\/Under: 7.5<\/strong>
\n CLICK here for INDEPTH MLB ATS Stats for this matchup —><\/strong><\/a>
\n Bet now at BETONLINE —><\/strong><\/a>
\nTalk smack about MLB Baseball Today In Our Forums –><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nCole Hamels (14-7, 2.60)<\/p>\n
\nJ.A. Happ (5-15, 5.77)<\/p>\nMLB Trends<\/h3>\n
\nPHI are 20-6 in their last 26 road games.
\nPHI are 52-19 in their last 71 games on grass.
\nOver is 6-2 in HOU last 8 home games.
\nHOU are 26-63 in their last 89 overall.
\nHOU are 5-12 in their last 17 Tue. games.<\/p>\nMLB Free pick: <\/h3>\n