Braun leads Brewers past struggling Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

05/13/2008 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two runs batted in, as the Milwaukee Brewers topped the suddenly scuffling Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Miller Park.

Bill Hall homered for the second straight game for the Brewers, who have won three straight. Prince Fielder went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Mike Cameron went 2-for-4, drove in a run and scored a run.

Carlos Villanueva (2-4) earned the win after allowing three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits over six innings. Salomon Torres threw two shutout innings in relief, and Eric Gagne -- who was demoted from the closer's role on Sunday -- survived a rocky ninth for his 10th save.

Russell Martin went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Dodgers, who suffered their fifth straight loss. Matt Kemp doubled, drove in a run and scored a run, while James Loney tripled and scored.

Bard Penny (5-4) surrendered five runs on nine hits over six frames -- racking up six strikeouts -- and took the loss.

Trailing 3-2, the Brewers rallied off a tiring Penny in the fifth.

Villanueva worked a leadoff walk, and two outs later, Cameron singled to center. Braun followed by ripping a double to center to plate both runners and put the Brewers on top. Fielder's single to left scored Braun for a 5-3 advantage before Penny finally stemmed the two-out rally.

Villanueva and Torres kept the Dodgers from getting any closer through eight innings, and Gagne put two men on in the ninth before retiring Juan Pierre on a popup to end the game.

The Dodgers picked up a two-out run in the first, as Kemp ripped a double to center and scored when Jeff Kent flipped a single into left.

Poor defense allowed L.A. to tack on another run in the third, as Pierre beat out an infield single with one out and advanced to second on a throwing error by Rickie Weeks. One out later, Kemp dropped an RBI single in front of Cameron in center.

Milwaukee got on the board in the bottom of the frame, as Weeks grounded a two-out single to left, stole second, and dashed home when Cameron ripped a single to left.

Loney stroked a leadoff triple to right in the fourth, and scored when Martin grounded a single through the right side of the infield. Blake DeWitt followed with a single, but Villanueva settled down and escaped the jam.

Hall brought the Brewers back within one in the bottom of the inning with a two-out opposite field homer.

Game Notes

Braun is 11-for-20, with four homers and six RBI over the first five games of Milwaukee's current homestand. Since making his major league debut on May 15, 2007, Braun has played in 151 games, compiling a .316 batting average, 43 homers and 126 RBI...Each team left seven runners on base...Manny Parra (1-2) gets the start for Milwaukee on Wednesday against Dodgers sinkerballer Derek Lowe (2-3)..Attendance was 26,465.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“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.

New York Giants betting lines

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.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

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.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

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.

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