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09/06/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yadier Molina's second career grand slam capped a six-run eighth inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game set.
Albert Pujols drove in a run and scored twice while Matt Holliday and Pedro Feliz each had an RBI and a run scored for the Cardinals, who have won three of their last four.
Jake Westbrook went six innings in the start and was charged with two runs on five hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts. Mitchell Boggs (2-2) got the win for tossing 1 1/3 innings while giving up a run.
"It was a great win," said St. Louis manager Tony La Russa. "They are a tough club to play here because of all that power. We got touched up at the end, but everybody got the outs that they needed."
Corey Hart hit a two-run homer and a solo shot while Rickie Weeks added a solo home run for the Brewers, who have lost six of their last seven. Yovani Gallardo threw seven innings and was charged with two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Zach Braddock (1-2) was tagged with the loss.
"Gallardo threw the ball very well and gave us the innings that we needed," said Milwaukee manager Ken Macha. "It was a big night for Corey with the two home runs. We just didn't get the bullpen help we needed."
With the score tied in the eighth, the Cardinals surged ahead with a six-run frame.
Braddock started the frame on the mound and got the first out, but then hit Jon Jay with a pitch. Jeremy Jeffress then took over on the hill and Pujols reached base on a Casey McGehee error. Holliday then put his team on top with a single that scored Jay.
After Colby Rasmus was issued an intentional walk to load the bases, Todd Coffey took the mound and promptly gave up an RBI single to Feliz. Molina followed with a blast over the left field wall for an 8-2 lead.
The Brewers cut into the deficit in the eighth. With men on first and third and one out, McGehee singled up the middle to score Hart. After Lorenzo Cain struck out, Alcides Escobar doubled to left to score Prince Fielder and make it an 8-4 game. On the play, Holliday gunned the ball to Brendan Ryan, who took the relay and threw home to nail McGehee for the final out of the inning.
Ryan Franklin gave up a leadoff double to Jonathan Lucroy in the ninth, but then retired the next two batters. Hart, though, cut the deficit in half when he crushed a pitch well over the center-field wall. Ryan Braun then worked a walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Fielder. Franklin, though, got Fielder to groundout to first base to end the game.
The Cardinals posted a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Skip Schumaker led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Jay and crossed the plate on a sac fly by Pujols.
The Brewers tied the game in the third on Weeks' solo shot over the right- field wall.
Milwaukee then went ahead in the fifth on a two-out, solo shot from Hart, but the Cardinals answered in the sixth on a wild pitch from Gallardo that scored Pujols.
Game Notes
St. Louis now leads the season-series with Milwaukee, 7-6...Hart now has 27 home runs on the season...Milwaukee stranded seven men on base...Pujols has 97 RBI on the season...Kyle Lohse takes the mound for St. Louis on Tuesday and will be opposed by Chris Narveson for Milwaukee...Molina's other grand slam came this season on April 5 against Cincinnati.
<< Hoffman rolls to big win at Deutsche Bank
Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charley Hoffman fired a nine-under 62 Monday to
roll to a five-stroke win at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Hoffman, wearing his Celtic green, missed the course record at the TPC Boston
by a single stroke, but
<< Steelers name Dixon starting quarterback
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers named Dennis Dixon
as the team's starting quarterback in the wake of Ben Roethlisberger's
suspension and Byron Leftwich's knee injury.
The choice was between either Dixon or
<< One More Laugh claims Cane Pace
Freehold, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odds-on favorite One More Laugh rolled to
victory Labor Day in the $300,000 Cane Pace at Freehold Raceway. The Cane Pace
is the first of Pacing's Triple Crown races.
Pacing's Triple Crown will continue
<< Bucs claim RB Blount, release WR Brown
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have claimed running
back LaGarrette Blount off waivers from the Tennessee Titans and released
veteran wide receiver Reggie Brown.
Blount was let go Sunday by the Titans afte
Padres scratch Latos due to illness >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just hours prior to his scheduled start
against the Dodgers, the San Diego Padres scratched pitcher Mat Latos due to
an undisclosed illness.
Latos has been the team's most consistent starter this season, goi
Chargers sign QB O'Sullivan >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Chargers signed quarterback
J.T. O'Sullivan to a one-year contract on Monday.
O'Sullivan will be the third-string quarterback behind starter Philip Rivers
and backup Billy Volek.
An eig
Schierholtz helps San Fran down D'Backs in extras >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Schierholtz ended a pitchers' duel with a
two-run triple in the 11th inning, leading the surging Giants to a 2-0 win
over the Arizona Diamondbacks to start a three-game series.
Aubrey Huff and Edgar
Alabama DE Dareus to remain sidelined against Penn State >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alabama head football coach Nick Saban
stated on Monday the suspension for defensive end Marcell Dareus will not be
appealed.
Saban stated last week the school planned on appealing the two-game ban
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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