07/23/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - Now that their recent home losing streak is gone, the San Francisco Giants will try for back-to-back wins versus the Washington Nationals in tonight's second test of a three-game series at AT&T Park.
San Francisco had dropped four in a row at home and three straight overall before handing Washington a 6-3 setback in Tuesday's opener of this series. Bengie Molina was a big reason for lifting San Francisco's spirits, as he ended with a pair of home runs.
Fred Lewis also went deep in the victory, while Aaron Rowand and Omar Vizquel each drove in a run for the Giants, who won for just the second time in 11 tries.
Starter Barry Zito tossed six solid innings to win his second consecutive decision for the first time this season. Zito yielded three runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
The Giants are 1-3 on a nine-game homestand and 18-31 as the host this season. They will hand the ball to Kevin Correia on Wednesday, and he is just 1-5 with a 5.81 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) on the year. Sadly, the Giants have dropped Correia's last eight starts since he beat St. Louis on April 10.
Correia is 0-4 in his last nine outings with four straight no-decisions. He last took the hill on July 12 at the Chicago Cubs, when he allowed seven runs and nine hits over 3 2/3 innings of work. The righty is 1-1 with a 2.55 earned run average in eight career games (1 start) against Washington.
Washington had a two-game winning streak come to an end with Tuesday's loss, in which Paul Lo Duca finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and Willie Harris added a pair of hits and drove in a run.
Nats third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who had been on the disabled list since May 26 with a shoulder injury, was activated on Tuesday and went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks.
Jason Bergmann started for the Nationals and gave up five runs -- four earned -- on five hits in five innings to absorb the loss.
Washington is 2-2 on a nine-game road trip and 18-32 as the visitor this season.
In team news for the Nationals, All-Star infielder Cristian Guzman inked a two-year contract extension on Tuesday that will keep him with the club through the 2010 season. Guzman ended 0-for-4 in last night's loss.
Rookie Collin Balester will toe the rubber for Washington on Wednesday, and he is 1-2 with a 5.87 earned run average over three starts. Balester has dropped consecutive starts and was roughed up his last time out on July 12 versus the Houston Astros. He gave up six runs, four of which were earned, in 4 2/3 frames of a 6-4 defeat.
The young right-hander has never faced San Francisco.
San Francisco swept a four-game set against Washington in D.C. from June 6-9 of this season. The Nationals were 9-4 in the last 13 games of this series before losing its five recent matchups with the Giants.
<< D'Backs crush Cubs in the desert
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Conor Jackson went 3-for-5 with a solo home
run, three runs driven in and two runs scored as the Arizona Diamondbacks
clobbered the Chicago Cubs, 9-2, in the second of a three-game set at Chase
Field.
Orla
<< Tigers pounce on Royals for third straight win
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Placido Polanco hit a solo home run and
ended with two runs driven in, while Kenny Rogers was solid in six innings to
lead the Detroit Tigers past the Kansas City Royals, 7-1, in a game that
endured
<< Molina and Giants defeat Nationals
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bengie Molina went 2-for-3 with two home
runs, and Barry Zito tossed six solid innings, as San Francisco topped
Washington, 6-3, in the first of three games with the Nationals.
Zito (5-12) won hi
<< Oakland signs S Wesley
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders signed safety Greg Wesley
to a one-year contract on Tuesday.
Wesley, 30, had spent all eight of his season in the NFL with the Kansas City
Chiefs, but was released by the club last week.
Yanks go for perfect homestand in finale with Twins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Mussina takes aim at win No. 13 this afternoon when
the New York Yankees try and cap an unbeaten six-game homestand with a three-
game sweep of the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium.
Mussina, who is one win beh
Rays wrap up set vs. Oakland at the Trop >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to hang onto their lead in the
American League East this afternoon when they play the rubber match of a
three-game series with the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana Field.
Tampa had its divi
Richard makes debut for White Sox against Texas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clayton Richard makes his major league debut this afternoon
when the Chicago White Sox play the rubber match of their three-game series
with the Texas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field.
Richard, who started the All-Star
Report: Hawks lose Childress to Greek team >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks have reportedly lost the
services of swingman Josh Childress to the Greek franchise Olympiakos.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday that Childress, 25, turned
down a five
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 Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smith and Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running back Deuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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