Braun delivers in extras to end Brewers skid
Baseball Betting Lines
07/09/2010 -
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun lined an opposite-field single
over Ryan Church's head in right field to score Rickie Weeks with the game-
winning run in the 10th inning, as the Brewers earned a 5-4 comeback win over
the Pirates in the opener of a three-game series.
Braun, who earlier in the game snapped out of an 0-for-19 slump, came up with
runners on first and second and two outs after Evan Meek (4-3) intentionally
walked Prince Fielder and struck the game-winner to end Milwaukee's five-game
slide. Weeks scored without a play at the plate.
"It felt really good. It's been a tough stretch for me and a tough stretch for
the team, so it was a big victory," Braun said. "There's a lot of season left,
and we just want to focus on playing better baseball."
Fielder added a solo homer and Corey Hart had a two-run blast in the win,
which was credited to John Axford (4-1) after he struck out Pedro Alvarez and
Ryan Doumit to strand a runner on third in the top of the 10th.
Doug Davis, in his first start since May 10, surrendered four runs on seven
hits and three walks over five innings for Milwaukee, while his counterpart,
Paul Maholm, held the Brewers to two runs on three hits and a pair of walks in
a seven-inning no-decision.
Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI, and Lastings
Milledge added two hits with a solo shot for the Pirates, losers of four
straight overall.
Milwaukee's offense was relatively silent after Hart's two-run blast in the
first inning, though Fielder's moonshot to right in the eighth off Joel
Hanrahan cut the Brewers' deficit to 4-3.
With Octavio Dotel on the hill to start the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Gomez
reached base on a one-out bunt single, stole second and moved to third when
Doumit's throw went to center field.
George Kottaras followed with a triple down the right-field line to tie it and
nearly scored the winning run seconds later, as Dotel's pitch got away from
Doumit. However, the ball was quickly recovered by the catcher, and Kottaras
was thrown out at the plate in plenty of time.
"The guys we ran out there in the eighth, ninth and 10th have done the job all
year, but tonight they each gave up a run," Pirates manager John Russell said
of his bullpen. "You don't see that very often. Unfortunately it happened
tonight. It's a shame."
Trailing 2-0, Ronny Cedeno doubled starting the third and scored two batters
later on McCutchen's base hit to left.
Milledge tied it, 2-2, in the fourth with his second homer of the season, and
McCutchen's leadoff blast the next frame gave the visitors the lead. Jose
Tabata singled after the round-tripper and scored on Pedro Alvarez's two-out
double to right for a 4-2 score.
Game Notes
Davis had been on the disabled list due to chest pain...Tabata also had two
hits for Pittsburgh, which had won three of the previous four over the Brewers
after losing the first four meetings by a 53-4 margin...The Pirates went 2-
for-11 with runners in scoring position.
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million for the fiv
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<< Buehrle, Pierzynski carry White Sox over Royals
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle spun seven scoreless frames and
A.J. Pierzynski hit two home runs and drove in a season-high four runs to
power the White Sox to an 8-2 victory over Kansas City in the opener of a
three-g
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innings while Albert Pujols collected two hits, including a two-run shot, and
drove in three as St. Louis downed Houston, 8-0, in the first of three
between
Busch denies Logano second straight Nationwide win at Chicago >>
Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch had the dominant car, but needed a
little bit of luck at the end to win Friday's Dollar General 300 Nationwide
Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Despite leading a race-high 110 laps, Busc
Argos edge Blue Bombers >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleo Lemon threw for 162 yards and ran for a
touchdown as he helped lead the Toronto Argonauts to a thrilling 36-34 win
over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium.
Also putting together a str
Orioles C Wieters leaves after injury >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters left
Friday's game against the Texas Rangers after stumbling while running the
bases.
Wieters was seen limping to third on a Scott Moore double and was forced o
Marlins edge Diamondbacks behind Nolasco, Uggla >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Nolasco pitched seven strong innings to
win his fourth straight start, and Florida edged Arizona, 3-2, in the second
portion of a four-game series.
Nolasco (9-6) allowed six hits and two runs, w
Stewart's slam completes another winning rally for Rockies >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Stewart knocked in a career-high six runs
and his grand slam was the big blow in a five-run seventh inning as Colorado
rallied to down San Diego, 10-8, in the opener of a three-game set at Coors
Field.
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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