Sanchez, Giants rally past Diamondbacks

Baseball Betting Lines

08/29/2010 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddy Sanchez had three hits, knocked in two runs and scored a run to push San Francisco past Arizona, 9-7, in a back and forth affair in the last of a three-game set.

Andres Torres added two hits, two runs scored and drove in two while Jose Guillen's two-run single in the seventh put the Giants ahead to stay as they salvaged the last game of the series to halt a three-game slide.

Jeremy Affeldt (3-3) grabbed the win despite allowing a two-run double that gave Arizona the lead in the top of the seventh, and Brian Wilson recorded the last five outs to earn his 36th save for San Francisco, which moved to within five games of San Diego in the NL West and remained 1 1/2 games behind Wild Card leader Philadelphia.

Esmerling Vasquez (1-5) suffered the loss after yielding three runs -- two earned -- on three hits in his lone inning of work for the Diamondbacks, who had a three-game win streak snapped.

Gerardo Parra singled to start the Arizona seventh, and, after pinch-hitter Rusty Ryal struck out, Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain was lifted with a 5-2 lead in favor of Javier Lopez, who gave up a single to Stephen Drew and was replaced by Santiago Casilla.

The move did not work, as Justin Upton belted a double into centerfield to plate both runners and trim the deficit to a run. Upton moved to third on a wild pitch and stayed put after Kelly Johnson walked and Chris Young struck out.

Bruce Bochy turned to Jeremy Affeldt to face LaRoche, and again the percentage play did not pan out, as the left-swinger laced a double to right to chase home both runners to put the visitors in the lead at 6-5.

Vasquez assumed the hill for Arizona in the bottom of the frame and allowed a leadoff single to Sanchez that was followed by a Huff ground rule double that Parra lost in the sun. Guillen then singled into center to chase home both runners to put the Giants back on top at 7-6.

Nate Schierholtz came on as a pinch-runner and advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt, to third on a Pablo Sandoval ground out and scored on a Cody Ross sacrifice fly to push the lead to two.

Parra legged out an infield single to start the eighth and advanced on a Ryan Roberts sacrifice bunt. Drew beat out an infield hit as Parra turned third and headed for the plate. He slid around the attempted tag of catcher Eli Whiteside and beat him back to the plate with a dive to slice the Giants' lead to 8-7.

Wilson then took over on the mound and gave up an infield hit to Upton before Johnson struck out and Young flied out to center to end the threat.

San Francisco added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth against Juan Gutierrez when Torres walked with two outs and scored on Sandoval's double to right.

Arizona, which struck for six runs in the first inning on Saturday, loaded the bases with one out in the first but Cain bulldogged his way out of the jam by striking out LaRoche and Mark Reynolds.

The visitors did break through two innings later on Drew's leadoff long ball to right.

San Francisco stormed back to grab their first lead of the series in the home half on a run-scoring double by Torres, an RBI single by Sanchez, a Huff fielder's choice grounder that plated Torres and a run-scoring double by Sandoval high off the brick wall in rightfield that brought Huff home to complete the four-run surge.

Eli Whiteside singled with one out in the fourth, moved to second on a Cain single and scored on a Torres base hit to make it a 5-1 contest.

Pinch-hitter Ryan Church struck out to begin the fifth but reached first base on a Cain wild pitch. The right-hander then uncorked two more wild offerings that advanced Church to third, from where he scored on a Drew ground out to cut the deficit to 5-2.

Game Notes

Cain allowed three runs on six hits with a walk and seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings...The right-hander had his run of 19 shutout innings against the D'Backs this season snapped in the third inning...Cain is 6-1 in his last 10 home turns and 7-3 in 14 home starts this season...Ross went 0-for-3 and lost an eight-game hitting streak, while Sanchez has hit safely in six straight and is 15-for-24...Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand turned 33 Sunday...Arizona starter Rodrigo Lopez lasted just four frames, giving up five runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out three...LaRoche's two RBI gave him 87, which tied the franchise single-season record for a first baseman, set by Tony Clark in 2005...Arizona is 14-13 with two games left in August, as it tries to secure its first winning month since August of last season.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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