Smoltz struggles in Red Sox debut as Nationals cruise to win
Baseball Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Harris and Josh Bard each finished with three hits and drove in a pair of runs as Washington spoiled the Red Sox debut of John Smoltz with a 9-3 thrashing in the finale of a three-game interleague series at Nationals Park.
Anderson Hernandez and Cristian Guzman also knocked in a pair of runs each for the Nationals, who avoided the sweep and snapped a three-game losing skid.
Jordan Zimmermann (3-3) went seven innings for the victory, scattering five hits and a run while fanning six.
Rocco Baldelli hit a two-run homer and David Ortiz drove in the other run for the Red Sox, whose four-game win streak came to an end.
Smoltz (0-1), finally able to make his season and Boston debut, was tagged in the loss for seven hits and five runs over five innings. The 42-year-old fanned five and walked one but suffered his first defeat since April 27, 2008 as a member of the Atlanta Braves.
It was the first appearance on the mound for Smoltz since last June 2, when his season was derailed due to surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder.
For the third straight time in the series, the Nats got on the board first, tagging the unlucky Smoltz for four runs.
Nick Johnson was drilled with a pitch two batters in, and Ryan Zimmerman followed with a double before Adam Dunn walked to load the bases. Josh Willingham's single plated one run, then Bard followed with another RBI hit. After a Harris line out, Hernandez dumped a single to left that brought in two more.
Willingham doubled with one out in the third and Bard drove him in two batters later for a 5-0 contest.
Boston finally hit the scoreboard in the sixth. Back-to-back singles from J.D. Drew and Jason Bay with one out put runners on the corners, and Ortiz lofted a sacrifice fly to left to plate Drew.
Washington was not done, and pushed across two runs in the home sixth on a two-run single by Guzman. The Nationals plated two more in the seventh on a second-deck blast to right by Harris.
Baldelli deposited a Tyler Clippard pitch into the left-field seats with one out in the ninth for a 9-3 game, but the reliever struck out Nick Green and Ramon Ramirez to finish off the win.
Game Notes
It was the first victory by any Washington-based club over Boston since September 18, 1971, when the Senators were based in the American League and played in RFK Stadium...It was also the first win over the Sox for the franchise since the Montreal Expos posted an 11-7 victory at Olympic Stadium on July 17, 2001...Smoltz had been activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the contest...Johnson had to leave the game in the second inning with a bruised left shin suffered when Smoltz hit him in the first.
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Rochester, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sandra Gal fired an eight-under 64 and held a
one-shot lead Thursday when the rain-delayed first round of the Wegmans LPGA
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Below is a list of players released, sorted by team and position:
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New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks sent veteran swingman
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Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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