Lincecum again dominant; Giants continue to pound Astros pitching

Baseball Betting Lines

07/04/2009 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum fired seven innings of three-hit shutout ball, and the Giants bats produced a second straight solid effort in a 9-0 win against the Astros.

Lincecum (9-2), fresh off being named the NL's Pitcher of the Month for June, won for the fifth time in his last six starts and for the ninth time in his last 10 decisions.

The reigning Cy Young Award winner for the Senior Circuit struck out nine, walked two and walked twice himself, scoring both times. He has now allowed two runs or less in eight of his last nine outings and has fanned at least eight batters in each of his last five starts.

San Francisco pounded out the nine runs on 12 hits one day after taking the opener to this three-game set in similar fashion, 13-0. Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn had a pair of RBI each, while Pablo Sandoval reached base four times with two hits and two walks, driving in a run in the win.

Former Giants right-hander Russ Ortiz (3-4) was tagged for nine hits and eight runs with five walks in a 5 2/3-inning start. Houston had entered the series winners in six of its previous eight but have managed just seven hits in the first two games versus the Giants.

The game was actually scoreless after 4 1/2 frames but the Giants scored twice in the fifth and broke it open with a six-run sixth. Sandoval knocked in Lincecum with a single to right to open the scoring, and Winn scored on a passed ball to close the fifth.

Lincecum walked for a second consecutive inning to load the bases with two outs in the sixth, and the Giants went on to rally for six runs. Rowand drove in two with a base hit to left and Winn doubled to right-center to plate two more. After Sandoval was intentionally walked, Chris Sampson came on but Bengie Molina greeted him with an RBI double and Nate Schierholtz followed with a run-scoring single to center.

Rich Aurilia added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Houston and San Francisco are meeting for the first time since the Astros took seven of the eight meetings a year ago. Houston went 3-1 at AT&T Park in 2008...Houston's Lance Berkman doubled and walked twice in four plate appearances...San Francisco reinstated Aurilia from the bereavement list and optioned infielder Matt Downs to Triple-A Fresno prior to the game...Rowand, Molina and Juan Uribe had two hits apiece for San Francisco.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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