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09/08/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Bonderman pitched eight brilliant innings and Alex Avila hit a key two-run double, as the Detroit Tigers topped the Chicago White Sox, 5-1, in the continuation of a four-game series.
Bonderman (8-9) turned in perhaps his best start of the season. He matched a season high in innings pitched and struck out eight, while allowing just one run on three hits and a walk.
Avila's double came in a four-run fourth inning, during which Brandon Inge hit a two-run single. Ryan Raburn added two hits and scored twice for the Tigers, who have won the last two games in the set after dropping Monday's opener.
John Danks (13-10) took the loss after allowing five runs -- two earned -- in six innings. He gave up eight hits and walked three.
Omar Vizquel homered to provide the lone run for the White Sox, who entered Wednesday's contest 4 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Twins. Minnesota hosts Kansas City on Wednesday.
Both pitchers avoided trouble until the fourth inning, when Vizquel got Chicago on the scoreboard with a rare home run. Bonderman threw a fastball in the zone and belt-high, and Vizquel hit it over the wall in right field for his second homer of the season.
But the Tigers struck back in the fourth with an extended rally. Raburn led off with a single, and one out later, Casper Wells reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Mark Teahen. After Jhonny Peralta walked to load the bases, Inge's single to center plated two.
Danks fanned Don Kelly for the second out, but Avila then crushed a ball to center. It fell just out of Alex Rios' reach, allowing Peralta and Inge to cross the plate for a 4-1 lead.
Detroit added another run in the fifth, when Raburn doubled to lead off, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Wells' infield single.
Bonderman finished his outing strong, retiring the final eight batters he faced, and Phil Coke tossed a scoreless ninth to seal the victory.
Game Notes
Bonderman threw 114 pitches (70 for strikes) and got 13 groundouts...Vizquel's homer was the 80th of his 22-year career...White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski had his 14-game hitting streak broken after going 0-for-3...Chicago first baseman Paul Konerko was back in the lineup after missing two games with a stiff lower back, and went 1-for-4.
<< Cardinals pitcher Miller has forearm strain
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals reliever Trever Miller
was diagnosed Wednesday with soreness and stiffness in his left elbow.
Miller was examined in St. Louis by Dr. George Paletta. An MRI scan revealed a
forearm stra
<< Ingram back running, still doubtful
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram has not returned to practice for No. 1 Alabama and while Nick Saban said the injured running back is unlikely to play against No. 18 Penn State on Saturday, the coach isn't necessarily countin
<< Rollins leaves game with tight hamstring
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins left the game against the Florida Marlins after the third inning with tightness in his right hamstring.The Phillies said Rollins is day-to-day. Rollins gingerly ran to second base and didn't slide
<< Thome a late scratch vs. Royals
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Jim Thome's climb up the home run charts has been put on hold.The Minnesota Twins designated hitter was a late scratch for the series finale against Kansas City on Thursday night. The team says Thome was scratched for precautionary
Rockies P Cook leaves game with injury >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies starter Aaron Cook left
Wednesday's game against Cincinnati in the sixth inning after being hit in the
right leg with a line drive.
Cook was making his second start since a month-long stint on t
Twins sweep away Royals, extend AL Central lead >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denard Span punctuated a three-run fifth
inning with a two-run triple, and the Minnesota Twins held on to beat Kansas
City, 4-3, to complete a three-game sweep at Target Field.
J.J. Hardy had two hit
Ljungberg's miss forces Fire to settle for draw with TFC >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire and Toronto FC played to a
0-0 draw at Toyota Park on Wednesday, a result that does little to help the
playoff chances of either team.
Chicago had the best chance of the match early in t
Braun, Brewers down reeling Cards >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun homered and drove in a total of
four runs to back Chris Capuano's solid performance on the mound, as the
Milwaukee Brewers dominated the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-1, in the rubber match
of a th
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
(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.
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