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07/23/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jay Bruce doubled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to lift the Reds to a 6-4 win in the opener of a three-game series with the Astros.
Joey Votto was 3-for-4 with a home run, walked and scored one of his two runs on Bruce's double. Ryan Hanigan had a two-run single and Bruce ended with two RBI as the Reds bounced back from dropping the final two games of a four-game set with Washington.
Francisco Cordero put the tying run on base in the ninth but stranded a pair by getting Hunter Pence to line out to center to end the game to earn his 27th save.
Pence was 4-for-5, hit a game-tying two-run homer in the sixth, scored twice and drove in three for Houston, which was coming off a 3-3 road trip. Tim Byrdak (1-1) took the loss.
<< Murphy the hero, Wagner falters in ninth as Fish nip Braves
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Donnie Murphy had the game-winning pinch-hit
single in the ninth to cap a wild back-and-forth 7-6 Marlins win to open a
three-game series with the Braves.
Billy Wagner (5-1) was called on to protect a
<< Parker's INT return for TD lifts Argos over Lions
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Byron Parker's 41-yard interception return for
a touchdown late in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference as the
Toronto Argonauts came back to defeat the British Columbia Lions, 24-20, at
the Rog
<< Wilson, Young lead Rangers past Angels
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Wilson threw eight shutout innings and
Michael Young homered in the opening frame as Texas edged the Angels, 1-0, in
the second installment of a four-game series.
Young and Nelson Cruz each had two
<< Roddick, Isner advance to semis in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Americans Andy Roddick and John Isner were a
pair of quarterfinal winners in Friday's action at the Atlanta Tennis
Championships.
Roddick, the top seed, recovered after dropping the first set to b
Yankees rough up Royals >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robinson Cano went 2-for-4 with a three-run
double in the first inning, as the New York Yankees roughed up the Kansas City
Royals, 7-1, in the second installment of a four-game series.
Alex Rodriguez, who h
Brewers' Hart leaves with injury >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Corey Hart left
Friday's game against Washington due to an injured right wrist.
Hart was given a rare day off on Thursday and tripled in his first at-bat
in his return. How
Edmonds powers Brewers past Nationals >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Edmonds entered as an injury replacement
for Corey Hart early in the game and went 2-for-3 with three RBI, including
the go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning, to lift Milwaukee to a 7-5
win ove
Indians extend home win streak against Rays >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fausto Carmona allowed just one unearned run
in five strong innings, as the Indians extended their home dominance of the
Tampa Bay Rays with a 3-1 win in a rain-shortened, seven-inning affair at
Progres
(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.
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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