Belliard slams Nats past Fish
Baseball Betting Lines
07/02/2008 -
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ronnie Belliard clubbed a grand slam to aid
Collin Balester's first major-league victory, as Washington downed Florida,
9-6, at Dolphin Stadium.
Balester (1-0) gave up just one run and one hit with three walks and three
strikeouts over five frames in his major-league debut. The 194-pound right-
hander was effectively wild in tossing 95 pitches.
"Got the win in my first start and I'm pretty excited about that," said
Balester. "I'm just going to let it all soak in and see how it goes."
Felipe Lopez went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Elijah Dukes homered for
Washington, which snapped a six-game skid to the Marlins.
Mark Hendrickson (7-7) took the loss after yielding six runs on 10 hits with
three strikeouts over six frames. Hanley Ramirez homered and drove in a
career-best five runs for Florida, which came into the night with an
opportunity to take over first place in the National League East.
"I felt there were some good pitches there and they (Nationals) just happened
to get hits," said Hendrickson.
However, Philadelphia beat Atlanta, 8-3, on Tuesday to extend its advantage to
1 1/2 games in the division.
The Nationals put the first run on the scoreboard courtesy of Dukes, who
pulled a 1-0 curveball high over the left-field scoreboard and into the seats
for a solo home run in the fourth.
Washington doubled its advantage one inning later as Lopez's single drove home
Paul Lo Duca, who doubled to begin the frame. The Marlins minimized the damage
as Josh Willingham threw out Lopez at the plate to end the inning.
Balester walked back-to-back batters in the home half of the fifth, and
Ramirez's sacrifice fly scored Robert Andino for a 2-1 game.
The fireworks commenced in the top of the sixth.
Three straight singles by Cristian Guzman, Dukes and Delmon Young loaded the
bases with nobody out. Belliard saw 1-0 change-up and drove it out of the
ballpark to left for a grand slam and a 6-1 edge.
Florida answered with a three-spot just after stretch time. Matt Treanor
singled to start the frame and Alfredo Amezega was hit by a pitch. Ramirez
then hit a three-run shot out to left field.
In the see-saw affair, the Nationals came back with three more runs in the top
of the eighth. Dukes singled and Belliard walked with one out. Lo Duca
followed with a base hit to fill the bases and Kory Casto's chopper forced
Mike Jacobs into a throwing error, scoring Dukes for a 7-4 game. Lopez and
Willie Harris hit successive run-scoring singles to grow the advantage to 9-4.
Amezaga and Ramirez hit run-scoring singles in the eighth and the fighting
Fish brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth. However, Jon Rauch
induced a Luis Gonzalez fly out with two runners on to end the game. Rauch
recorded his 17th save in the process.
Game Notes
The grand slam was the second of Belliard's career. He hit another slam on
October 25, 2002 against Tampa Bay...In addition to throwing out Lopez at the
plate, Willingham gunned down the same runner at second base later in the
game...Dukes stole his ninth bag of the season...Attendance 12,166.
<< Brewers edge D'Backs
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.J. Hardy hit a pair of home runs as Milwaukee
clubbed Arizona, 8-6, in the second contest of a four-game set at Chase Field.
Jeff Suppan (5-6) benefited from Hardy's big night, collecting the victory
afte
<< Kent gives Dodgers a victory over the Astros
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Kent stroked a solo home run in the 11th
inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros,
in the second installment of a four-game series at Minute Maid Park.
Russell Marti
<< Cook tosses gem, ends Rockies' eight-game losing streak
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Cook pitched a complete game for the first
shut out of his career, and Matt Holliday was the only Rockie with two hits as
Colorado beat San Diego, 4-0, in the middle of a three-game set from Coors
Field.
<< Sonics' Watson breaks thumb
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle SuperSonics point guard Earl Watson
fractured his right thumb and will have surgery Thursday in Los Angeles.
The 29-year-old Watson averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 assists, both career highs
last seaso
<< Rangers nip Yanks with run in ninth
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Young went 2-for-5 and drove in the go-
ahead run in the ninth inning, as the Texas Rangers edged the New York
Yankees, 3-2, in the middle contest of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.
Chris Da
Cain pitches Giants past struggling Cubs >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cain hurled eight shutout innings,
as the San Francisco Giants topped the Chicago Cubs, 2-1, in the second
installment of a four-game series at AT&T Park.
Cain (5-6) fanned 10 Cubbies
Isles sign D Streit >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders signed defenseman
Mark Streit to a five-year contract, the team announced Tuesday.
Streit posted a career-high with 13 goals and 62 points for the Canadiens last
season and was a r
Anderson powers Angels over A's >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garret Anderson's two-run homer in the bottom
of the eighth inning lifted the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to a 5-3 victory
over the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium.
Casey Kotchman, Vladimir Guerrero an
Diamondbacks send Byrnes back to DL >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks placed starting
outfielder Eric Byrnes on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a torn
left hamstring.
The move sends Byrnes back to the bench after a month on the DL wi
Habs re-sign Kostitsyn >>
Montreal, Quebec (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens agreed to terms
with restricted free agent forward Andrei Kostitsyn to a three-year contract.
The 10th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, Kostitsyn recorded 26 goals and
27 as
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smith and Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running back Deuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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