Hits Down Home Lackey

Baseball Betting Lines

Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In hindsight, perhaps Boston starter John Lackey should have pitched around Raul Ibanez. The Philadelphia left fielder clubbed a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Phillies edged the Red Sox, 2-1, in the middle test of a three-game interleague series at Citizens Bank Park.

 

He didn't toss a shutout like teammate Cliff Lee did in Tuesday's opener, but Vance Worley (3-1) limited the vaunted Boston offense to one run and five hits over a career-high seven innings.

 

Scott Downs recorded the final two outs of the eighth, and Jordan Walden, who blew his previous three save chances, shook off a one-out double in the ninth to notch his 18th save of the season.

 

Haren had gone through a rough patch following a fast start to the season, as he gave up at least three runs in each of his previous six outings.

 

But on Wednesday he resembled the pitcher who threw to a 1.72 earned run average over his first 10 starts, retiring the first 10 bitters he faced and setting down nine in a row after plunking Jerry Hairston Jr. with one out in the fifth inning.

 

Haren was pulled after throwing 120 pitches, and the bullpen held on for the Angels' eighth win in 10 games, with Walden striking out Michael Morse to strand Zimmerman at third.

 

This was the Angels' first home sweep of the season...Haren picked up his first home win since April 12...Zimmermann pitched into the seventh inning in each of his six starts in June and gave up a total of four earned runs in 42 1/3 innings...Hairston exited the game after getting hit in his right hand by a Haren pitch in the fifth...Game time: 2:19.

 

Sergio Santos then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to lock down his 16th save of the season.

 

Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Aramis Ramirez singled in Tony Campana with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 win over the Giants, snapping San Francisco's season-high seven- game winning streak. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster retired 20 straight batters until the ninth inning, but was lifted after surrendering a leadoff double to left-center off the bat of Pat Burrell. Carlos Marmol couldn't close the door on the win, as Emmanuel Burriss bounced a one-out, RBI single into center field. Campana's throw home was off line and Burriss raced to second.

 

In the bottom of the ninth, Campana legged out an infield hit, as the ball went past a drawn-in Sandoval at third and shortstop Miguel Tejada's throw to first was late. Reed Johnson put down a sacrifice bunt, and Campana went to third on Geovany Soto's groundout. Ramirez, hitting for Marmol, took a pair of strikes before belting a sinking line drive in front of left fielder Aaron Rowand to win the game.

 

The Cubs broke through in the seventh when Carlos Pena led off with a double to right and Blake DeWitt followed with an RBI single to right.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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