07/05/2008 - Phoenix, AZ (Baseball Betting) - Scott Hairston's two home runs and three RBI gave enough insurance to Jake Peavy, as the San Diego Padres escaped with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a well pitched, middle installment of a three-game set.
Peavy (6-5) showcased his All-Star form by scattering three hits -- all doubles -- and two walks, while striking out six in seven shutout innings for the Padres, winners of back-to-back affairs for the first time since June 11-12.
Adrian Gonzalez added a solo home run and Trevor Hoffman recorded his 16th save of the season with a shaky ninth.
Doug Davis (3-4) was saddled with the loss despite giving up just three runs on seven hits to go with seven strikeouts in eight solid innings for Arizona, which has lost four of five.
Orlando Hudson finished with two doubles and an RBI, and Stephen Drew hit a solo long ball in defeat.
After two scoreless innings, Luke Carlin led off the third with a single and moved into scoring position on a Peavy bunt. The sacrifice wasn't needed, as Hairston pounded a hanging curveball into the pool beyond the right-center field wall for a 2-0 Padres lead.
The score remained that way until the sixth, when Hairston stepped in again and smacked a leadoff shot over the left field wall for his second multi-home run game of the season.
After Chase Headley was thrown out trying to score on a wild pitch to end the away seventh, Chad Tracy snapped Peavy's streak of 14-straight retired batters with a leadoff double.
The two-bagger didn't faze the reigning National League Cy Young winner, as he mowed down the next two hitters and got Miguel Montero on an inning-ending pop out to short.
Arizona finally plated a run with Peavy out of the game in the eighth. With Heath Bell on the hill, Alex Romero singled to start the inning and came around to score on Hudson's double down the left-field line.
Gonzalez added an extra insurance run an inning later, smashing a 3-1 offering from Tony Pena to right for his 22nd home run of the season and a 4-1 lead.
Drew made things interesting with a one-out solo blast to right off Hoffman. Montero singled two batters later to bring the tying run to the plate, but Romero flied out to right to end the comeback threat.
Game Notes
Peavy snapped a three-start winless streak...Hairston also had two homers against Philadelphia on April 29...It was Hoffman's first save opportunity since June 11...Peavy came into the game 10-10 in his career against the D'Backs with a 4.98 ERA in 23 starts...The season series is tied, 4-4...The D'Backs go for the sweep on Sunday with Randy Johnson (4-7) matching up against Josh Banks (2-3).
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Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday went 2-for-4, homered and knocked
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with a 12-6 win over the Florida Marlins in the third of four games from Coors
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driver held a half-car length lead over Carl Edwards when the race ended under
caution.
It
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Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kinsler smashed a two-run home run to
help the Texas Rangers to a 5-3 win in the middle portion of a three-game set
with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
Michael Young went 3-for-5 with an RBI
<< Twins' bats send reeling Indians to seventh straight loss
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Harris, Craig Monroe and Alexi
Casilla each knocked in two runs, as the Minnesota Twins rallied to beat the
Cleveland Indians, 9-6, in the middle contest of a three-game set from the
Metrodo
Halladay puts a lid on Angels as Toronto hangs on to win >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rios went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs,
while Vernon Wells clubbed a two-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays staved
off a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 7-5, in the middle
of a th
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Mariners edge Tigers >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Clement delivered a pair of home runs,
including a game-winning, two-run shot in the eighth, as the Seattle Mariners
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Rain delays start of Wimbledon final >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rain has delayed the start of the men's
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Roger Federer will try for his sixth straight title at the All England Club
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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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