05/13/2008 - Cincinnati, OH (Baseball Betting) - Edinson Volquez continued his strong rookie year, holding the Marlins to one run in six innings, but Cincinnati's 5-3 win over Florida came coupled with the loss of shortstop Jeff Keppinger, who left with a broken kneecap after fouling a ball off his left knee.
Keppinger, who leads the club with a .324 batting average and 21 runs batted in, fouled a ball off the kneecap in the second inning, but remained in the game until he was lifted in the fourth. X-rays revealed the fracture, and he is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday.
Volquez (6-1), meanwhile, scattered seven hits and two walks while fanning five for the Reds, who have won three of four, including the first two of this four-game set. Joey Votto went 2-for-3 and hit a solo homer for Cincinnati.
Mark Hendrickson (5-2) was roughed up for eight hits and four runs in five innings, walking five and striking out four to take the loss. Cody Ross hit a pinch-hit solo homer to make it a two-run game in the eighth, but that was as close as the Marlins would get. Florida had won seven straight prior to this series.
Ross' homer to left with two outs in the eighth cut the deficit to 5-3, and Reds closer Francisco Cordero walked Jeremy Hermida to start the ninth. A wild pitched moved Hermida to second, but Edwin Encarnacion made consecutive great plays to throw out Hanley Ramirez and Jorge Cantu on groundouts. Cordero then fanned Dan Uggla to nail down his seventh save.
The Reds touched Hendrickson for two runs in the second, but lost their shortstop in the process. Votto walked, Jerry Hairston Jr. singled to left, and David Ross worked a one-out walk, loading the bases for Volquez. The pitcher grounded right back to his counterpart, and Hendrickson threw home for the second out, bringing Ryan Freel to the plate.
Freel ran out a grounder to the right side, sliding into first just ahead of Hendrickson covering to plate the first run. Keppinger then fouled a pitch off his left knee, breaking his bat in the process. He grimaced in pain and walked the injury off for a bit before stepping back in and working a walk to force in another run.
Brandon Phillips then flied out to right to end the threat. Keppinger stayed in the game for two more innings, but was lifted for pinch-hitter Corey Patterson in the fourth. Hairston moved to shortstop from right, Freel moved over to right, and Patterson came in to play center.
The Reds added a run in the third on an RBI groundout by Adam Dunn.
The Marlins loaded the bases with one out against Volquez in the fifth, and Ramirez brought in one run with a sacrifice fly to right. Volquez then walked Cantu, but was able to bear down and punch out Uggla to end the threat.
The Reds tacked on another run in the fifth when Hairston doubled to left with two outs, stole third, and came home on Ross' bunt single.
Uggla made it a 4-2 game with an RBI single in the seventh, but Votto's leadoff homer in the home half of the frame restored the three-run lead.
Game Notes
Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. took the night off. Griffey, who is three home runs shy of 600 for his career, has not homered since April 23, and committed a two-run error on Monday...Volquez is the second pitcher in 60 years, the first since Oakland's Mike Norris in 1980, to allow one or zero runs in his first eight starts...Ross' pinch-hit homer was the third of his career.
<< Church continues torrid start as Mets double up Nationals
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Church homered, doubled and drove in four
runs, as the New York Mets surged past the Washington Nationals, 6-3, in the
second of a four-game series at Shea Stadium.
Brian Schneider went 3-for-4, knocke
<< Scott homers as Orioles hold off Red Sox
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Scott ripped the go-ahead three-run
homer and the Orioles touched Josh Beckett for five runs, lifting Baltimore to
a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a brief two-game
series.
<< Greene's blast powers Padres over Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Khalil Greene's three-run home run off Jason
Marquis was the difference, as San Diego edged out Chicago, 4-3, at Wrigley
Field.
The Padres literally slipped past the Cubs on a chilly, rainy night in t
<< Byrd, Tribe continue pitching dominance
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Byrd baffled the Oakland offense for 7
1/3 innings of scoreless ball, as the Cleveland Indians blanked the Athletics,
4-0 in a pitching duel at Progressive Field.
Byrd (2-3) tossed just 92 pitches -
Pens on verge of sweeping Flyers >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marian Hossa scored twice, including the
game-winner, as the Pittsburgh Penguins topped the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1,
in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at Wachovia Center.
Ryan Whitney and Ry
Defensive blunder allows Royals to nip Tigers >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Greinke threw six solid innings, Jose
Guillen hit a two-run double, and the Kansas City Royals used a Detroit error
to edge the Tigers, 3-2, in the opener of a three-game set.
Guillen finished the ga
Laird propels Rangers over Mariners >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Laird went 2-for-3 with an RBI and
three runs scored as the Texas Rangers upended the Seattle Mariners, 5-2, in
the second test of a three-game series at Rangers Ballpark.
Texas starter Kason Ga
Pirates' Doumit leaves with thumb injury >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit left after one
inning of Tuesday's game against the Cardinals with a left thumb injury.
A pitch from Pittsburgh starter Phil Dumatrait hit the catcher on the thumb of
his glove
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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