Braves use big seventh inning to beat Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

06/06/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus' two-run homer and a two-run double by Brian McCann keyed a seven-run seventh inning, as the Braves came away with a 9-3 win over the Dodgers in the third of four games from Chavez Ravine.

Omar Infante had a two-run base hit and Brooks Conrad a pinch-hit single to open the scoring for Atlanta, which batted around in the frame. McCann added a two-RBI hit in the eighth to finish with four driven in.

Tommy Hanson (6-3) won his third straight start, allowing a pair of runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks over six innings for the Braves, who had a nine-game winning streak halted via a 5-4 verdict on Friday.

Chad Billingsley (6-3) pitched into the seventh but was pulled after allowing the first three batters to reach base. Each came around to score with the right-hander ending with a line of three runs, seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts. He had won his previous four decisions and helped himself early on with a run-scoring double.

Los Angeles had won five of its last six coming in.

Three consecutive singles to start the fateful seventh got Atlanta its first run on Conrad's poke into center. That brought out Ramon Troncoso from the bullpen, but the carnage continued.

A sacrifice bunt by Martin Prado moved up the runners and Infante brought in both with a base hit to left. Jason Heyward walked and was quickly crossing the plate along with Infante courtesy of a double off the base of the left- field wall from McCann.

Manny Ramirez took a curious line toward the ball and watched it one-hop out of his reach as McCann took third on the eventual throw in. Ronald Belisario took over pitching duties and promptly served up Glaus' two-run homer to center field for a sudden 7-2 difference.

McCann made it a seven-run game with his two-out single an inning later, and LA went in order facing Peter Moylan in the bottom half. Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth and was touched for a Rafael Furcal infield hit that scored a run before finishing out the frame.

The Dodgers manufactured single runs in the second and third innings to secure an early advantage. After a Jamey Carroll double-play ball in the second, Blake DeWitt singled and Billingsley lifted a double to center field to forge a 1-0 edge.

Matt Kemp tripled to deep center just over the outstretched glove of Nate McLouth leading off the third and scored to make it a two-run affair when Andre Ethier hit a sacrifice fly.

Game Notes

Furcal had three hits, while DeWitt had two and scored two of the three Dodger runs. Ethier stole his first base of the season...Glaus' home run was his 11th on the year. He has 44 RBI in 56 games this season...Prado collected a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 games...The Dodgers had a 24-1 record when leading after six innings entering play Saturday...Hanson has won five of his last six decisions overall.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.