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07/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Buster Posey tries to extend his 20-game hitting streak this evening when the San Francisco Giants and Florida Marlins resume their four-game series at AT&T Park.
San Francisco stayed hot on Tuesday, as Juan Uribe led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a tie-breaking homer off Brian Sanches and Edgar Renteria added a two-run shot later in the frame, lifting the Giants to a 6-4 win.
Posey had an RBI single in the third inning to extend his streak, while Andres Torres went 3-for-4 and scored twice for the Giants, who won for the fifth time in six contests and moved within 2 1/2 games of San Diego for first place in the NL West.
Dan Uggla belted a pair of solo homers for the Marlins, who lost for just the third time in their last 11 games. Cody Ross added a two-run homer in defeat.
Both starting pitchers lasted seven innings with Florida's Josh Johnson allowing eight hits and three runs. Matt Cain gave up four hits and three runs, while logging six strikeouts.
"It was a nice win, especially who we were going against tonight," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
Johnson had gone 13 straight starts without allowing more than two earned runs, a streak dating back to May 8 when he surrendered three runs to the Washington Nationals. The only streak longer was Mike Scott's amazing 14-game run with the Houston Astros in 1986.
"When you allow only three runs and you call that an off day it is amazing," Marlins interim manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "We should have scored for him. He kept us in the game."
Posey, meanwhile, is batting .450 with 23 RBI during the majors' longest active hitting streak, and the second-longest ever by a San Francisco rookie since Hall of Famer Willie McCovey's 22-gamer in 1959.
Hoping to slow Posey down tonight will be righty Alex Sanabia, who is 1-1 with a 2.11. Sanabia did not get a decision on Friday against Atlanta, which managed just a run and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Sanabia has never faced the Giants, who will pin their hopes on Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez is 7-6 on the year, but has not received a decision in his last three starts. He gave up a run and four hits in five innings on Friday in Arizona, but did not factor in the decision of his team's 7-4 win.
Sanchez is 0-1 in three games (one start) with a 7.36 ERA.
San Francisco swept a three-game set from the Marlins earlier in the year and has won six of the last eight meetings in the series.
<< Struggling Rockies seek to bring skid to a close against Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies try to avoid their eighth straight
loss this evening when they play the middle test of their three-game series
with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field.
Following a 2-9 road trip, things didn't get a
<< Red Sox turn to Beckett aiming for sweep of Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Beckett makes his second start since returning from
the disabled list this afternoon when the Boston Red Sox try to complete a
three-game sweep against the LA Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium.
Boston, which was swep
<< Astros vie to extend series win streak over Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have yet to lose a series to the Chicago
Cubs this year. Starting pitcher Bud Norris getting his first victory in well
over two months would keep that stretch going.
Norris and the Astros aim for a fourt
<< White Sox, Buehrle hope to extend home streak versus Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle tries to lead the Chicago White Sox to their
10th straight home win this evening when they resume their four-game series
against the Seattle Mariners at U.S. Cellular Field.
Buehrle has been a big reason behin
Dodgers shoot for another win in key set with Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Excellent pitching and timely hitting made the Los Angeles
Dodgers look like the first-place team last night versus the San Diego Padres.
Los Angeles goes for its first four-game winning streak in almost two months
tonight
Hudson tries to get Braves back on track in Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Atlanta Braves want to hold onto first place in the
National League East, they must find a way to consistently beat teams like the
Washington Nationals. Lucky for them, that is Tim Hudson's specialty.
Hudson will tr
FBS Football: Agent-Gate 2010 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Throwing the word "Gate" behind subject
matter gives the impression of impropriety, and in turn draws a line in the
sand for those trying to decide what to make of an issue.
At SEC Football Media Day earli
Reds wrap up set in Milwaukee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After breaking out of an offensive slump last night, the
Cincinnati Reds hope to be swinging hot bats for a second straight day when
the National League Central co-leaders conclude a three-game series with the
Milwaukee Brewe
MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.
(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.
Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season.
MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.
Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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