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09/07/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez, arguably the league's hottest hitter, blasted an early three-run homer to help lift the streaking Colorado Rockies to a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Gonzalez extended his hit streak to 15 with his 32nd home run, and the Rockies won for the fifth straight game to close to within four games of first-place San Diego, which is currently playing Los Angeles. Gonzalez, who jumped into the Triple Crown race, has 31 hits in his last 59 at-bats with seven homers and 21 RBI.
The former Oakland and Arizona farmhand currently leads the National League with a .340 batting average and 100 RBI, but trails Albert Pujols by three home runs.
Miguel Olivo added three hits and an RBI, while Jhoulys Chacin (8-9) allowed two runs on six hits in six innings to earn the win. Huston Street picked up his 16th save, as the Rockies won for the eighth straight time over Cincinnati at Coors Field.
Drew Stubbs hit a two-run single, while Jonny Gomes homered for the Reds, who have lost four of five but still lead the Cardinals by six games in the NL Central after St. Louis lost to Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Johnny Cueto (12-5) allowed four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits and two walks in six innings to take the loss.
Gonzalez's incredible stretch continued in the opening inning.
Eric Young Jr. and Dexter Fowler opened the game with consecutive singles, and Gonzalez made it count with a three-run blast to left for an early lead.
The Reds didn't get on the board until a mental mistake by the Rockies in the fourth.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Ramon Hernandez hit a ground ball toward the third baseman Melvin Mora. Instead of throwing to first to get the slow runner in Hernandez, Mora attempted to run and tag third, but Joey Votto beat the play. Stubbs followed with his single for a one-run game.
An error by Brandon Phillips helped Colorado increase its lead to 4-2 in the sixth. With two outs and nobody on base, Seth Smith hit a weak ground ball to Phillips, who couldn't handle it. Olivo followed with a line drive in the left-centerfield gap, scoring Smith on the double.
Matt Belisle maintained the Rockies' lead with a scoreless seventh, but Rafael Betancourt allowed a two-out solo homer to Gomes to make it a 4-3 game heading to the ninth.
Street pitched around a two-out single in the ninth to polish off the win.
Game Notes
The Reds' last win at Coors Field came on August 22, 2008...Young Jr. had two hits and a stolen base for Colorado...Both starting pitchers struck out five...Chacin threw 72 of his 107 pitches for strikes...Phillips' error was his first in 63 games since May 17.
<< Broncos RB White has Achilles surgery
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos running back LenDale White
underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon.
The Denver Post reported Tuesday that White had the procedure done as the
Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Col
<< Clijsters and Williams to clash in the semifinals
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champions Kim Clijsters
and Venus Williams advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Tuesday night.
The two will face off against one another on Friday.
Clijsters, the 2005 and 2009
<< Hoffman picks up 600th save as Brewers hold off Cards
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee's two-run single in the fifth
inning proved to be the difference, as the Milwaukee Brewers held off the St.
Louis Cardinals, 4-2, on a night that saw all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman
record
<< Bourn, Astros top Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Bourn finished 3-for-4 with three RBI
and fell a home run shy of the cycle as Houston downed Chicago, 7-3, in the
middle test of a three-game set from Wrigley Field.
Jeff Keppinger had a pair of
Angels release longtime utilityman Quinlan >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels cut ties with utilityman
Robb Quinlan, who has been with the team since 2003.
Quinlan has played sparingly this year, recording only four hits in 33 at-
bats. Never a starter but
Latos sets MLB record as Padres top Dodgers >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mat Latos tossed seven innings of one-run
baseball to set an MLB record, as the San Diego Padres defeated the Los
Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, in the second test of a three-game series at Petco Park.
Lato
Mariners hold off A's >>
Oakland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki registered two more hits in his quest
for his 10th consecutive 200-hit season and drove in a run, as Seattle held
off Oakland, 7-5, hampering the Athletics in their attempt to gain ground in
the AL
Nadal cruises into QFs; Verdasco rallies to shock Ferrer >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal breezed in three sets
over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez Tuesday and moved into the quarterfinals
at the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam tournament the current world No. 1 has
yet to
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting