Philadelphia Phillies expected when they acquired him last month.Cabrera’s solo home run with one out in the 10th lifted the Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night in a game played through steady rain.Cabrera connected off Steve Cishek (4-2) Kyle Freeland Jersey , driving an opposite-field shot to left-center to help the Phillies pull within two games of Atlanta in the NL East. The Braves lost 3-2 to Pittsburgh.“That’s why we traded for him,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said of Cabrera, who came from the New York Mets on July 31. “Big moment. Absolutely demolished the ball.”Cabrera got mobbed by teammates and showered with bubble gum and a sports drink after circling the bases following his fifth career walk-off homer and first since hitting one off teammate Edubray Ramos on Sept. 22, 2016.“It feels awesome to help the team win,” Cabrera said. “This game is not easy.”Javier Baez hit his 29th homer for the NL Central-leading Cubs.Pat Neshek (2-1) earned the win with a scoreless inning.Baez hit a liner out to left off Nick Pivetta for his NL-leading 98th RBI to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the fifth.Philadelphia tied it at 1 on Cesar Hernandez’s RBI single off Jose Quintana in the sixth. The speedy Roman Quinn hit a double and scored on the hit to left.Phillies reliever Adam Morgan escaped a jam in the seventh when Baez hit a hard liner to right with two runners on, but Phillies newcomer Jose Bautista reached out to make the catch and doubled Tommy La Stella off second to end the inning.Seranthony Dominguez struck out Cubs pinch-hitter Victor Caratini to leave the bases loaded in the eighth.Pivetta pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the third by striking out Anthony Rizzo and retiring Ben Zobrist on a grounder to shortstop.STARTING TIMECubs: Quintana gave up one run and three hits, striking out seven in six innings. He has allowed just 13 hits over his last three starts after posting a 7.52 ERA over his previous four.Phillies: Pivetta allowed one run and five hits, striking out six in five innings.A FIRSTQuintana had his first two-hit game after entering with four hits in 91 career at-bats.MR. PINCHLa Stella led off the seventh with a single http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , setting the franchise record for pinch-hits in a season with 21.TURNAROUNDHector Neris, who began the season as Philadelphia’s closer and was demoted to Triple-A after pitching poorly, has 20 strikeouts and hasn’t allowed a run in nine innings since being recalled a few weeks ago.WELCOME HOMECubs lefty Cole Hamels received a standing ovation following a video tribute in the middle of the fourth inning. Hamels was the MVP of the 2008 World Series and NLCS with the Phillies. He was traded to Texas in 2015. Hamels would’ve pitched on Sunday but was pushed back because Joe Maddon is going with a six-man rotation.“I thought it was good to let him come back and enjoy his three days,” Maddon said. “Knowing him, he’s competitive and he probably wanted to pitch but I didn’t ask him.”TRAINER’S ROOMCUBS: Closer Brandon Morrow (right biceps inflammation) threw from 120 feet. … OF Jason Heyward wasn’t in the lineup after injuring his right hamstring Thursday night. … 3B Kris Bryant (shoulder) and LHP Brian Duensing (shoulder) are expected to rejoin the team after the rosters expand on Saturday.UP NEXTRHP Kyle Hendricks (10-10, 3.86 ERA) starts for the Cubs on Saturday night and RHP Zach Eflin (9-5, 3.99) goes for Philadelphia. Eflin and the Phillies beat Hendricks 6-1 on June 5 at Wrigley Field. The Tampa Bay Rays are 750-1 to win the World Series entering the All-Star Break. Despite those long odds, Tampa has quietly put together a good first half and could get even better down the stretch.The Rays will, in all likelihood Ryan McMahon Jersey , fall short of the playoffs. But that doesn't mean they aren't a good bet.The Tampa Bay Rays began the season 1-8 and it looked like their 2018 campaign was dead before it even got going. Since then, the Rays are 48-39 and have my attention, despite being 750-1 to win the World Series.Tampa Bay is 49-47 at the All-Star break, which leaves the Rays 18 games back in the American League East and 8.5 games behind Seattle for the second wild-card spot. Obviously, the division is out of the question, but a wild-card berth is certainly possible, albeit unlikely. Between Tampa and Seattle are the surging Oakland A’s, who are just three games back at the checkpoint.I like the Rays, but a major part of this bet is fading Seattle. As impressive as the Mariners were in the first half B.J. Upton Jersey , their record is propped up by a lot of luck while the Rays’ record undersells how good they’ve been. Seattle and Tampa Bay are tied for the most one-run games this season (38), but the Mariners have won nine more games (26) than the Rays (17) in contests decided by one run. Those nine wins are what separates these two teams.聽The Athletics have also been one-run wizards this season with a 15-8 record.FanDuel鈥檚 New Meadowlands Sportsbook Mostly Passes World Cup TestRead nowThe A’s have the best run differential (+24) of these three teams but Tampa isn’t far behind (+20) while Seattle actually has a -2 run differential. That also points to regression for the M’s.The Rays should regress in the second half, but their regression figures to be positive. They have won eight fewer games than their 3rd-order win percentage (a team’s projected winning percentage, based on underlying statistics and adjusted for quality of opponents) suggests they should have won. The Mariners have outperformed their 3rd-order win percentage by seven wins and the A’s have outperformed theirs by three.And, of course, we must talk about “The Opener.” The Rays’ new pitching experiment in which they have a reliever, often Ryne Stanek, start a game and pitch the first inning before handing the ball off. Since the Rays started using an “opener” on May 19, they have skyrocketed to the top of the leaderboards in a bevy of pitching categories.Tampa’s success goes beyond their new strategy. Ace Blake Snell is one of the best pitchers in baseball this season http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , and with Chris Archer and Nathan Eovaldi behind him, the Rays have a good rotation.One area where the Rays have benefited from good luck is their batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Tampa currently boasts a .317 BABIP, which is the second-highest in the league. That number suggests their offense is running a bit hot, but their other offensive metrics show that they are basically on par with Oakland and Seattle, as the three teams are separated by just three basis points in terms of weighted on-base average (wOBA).Another concern if you’re backing the Rays is that they are a small-market team and could end up cashing in on some players at the trade deadline.聽 Archer and Eovaldi will surely draw some interest from other聽contenders, as will catcher Wilson Ramos. That isn’t ideal, but there are going to be a lot of red flags when you back a team at these odds.Even if the Rays do capture the second wild card, they will be heavy underdogs in the one-game playoff against the Yankees or Red Sox. Still, that’s just one game they need to win to get into the playoffs Jason Kipnis Jersey , and if you get a 750-1 ticket into October, you’re already way ahead.It’s important to remember with a dart such as this one that you are not expecting it to cash, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good 鈥?and fun 鈥?bet to make for the second half.
