07/03/2009 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarrett Hoffpauir came through in a big way in his major league debut, hitting the go-ahead two-run single in the ninth inning, lifting St. Louis to a 7-4 win over Cincinnati, in the opener of a three-game series.
Albert Pujols continued his incredible season, belting his club record fourth grand slam of the season in the eighth inning and knocking in five runs over the final two frames, as the Cardinals began a 10-game road trip with their third straight win. Fresh off being named NL Player of the Month, Pujols upped his major league-leading totals to 31 homers and 82 RBI.
Jerry Hairston Jr. had three hits and an RBI for the Reds, who had won four of five coming into the weekend.
Reds starter Homer Bailey had a spectacular outing, yielding three hits and two runs over 7 1/3 innings, while St. Louis' Joel Pineiro allowed eight hits and three runs -- two earned -- in seven frames.
Nick Masset was on the mound for the top of the ninth, but left after taking a ball of his arm. Danny Herrera (1-4) then relieved Masset and retired Joe Thurston on a pop-up, but Colby Rasmus and Brendan Ryan singled and Skip Schumaker was safe on an error by shortstop Paul Janish, a ball that he couldn't handle on a short hop.
Then, in his first official big league at-bat, Hoffpauir smacked a soft liner to left field. Hoffpauir, a sixth-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2004, was called up Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis and became the 15th rookie to appear with St. Louis this year.
Pujols then greeted reliever Carlos Fisher with an RBI double down the left- field line.
It was a tenuous bottom of the ninth, but Ryan Franklin was able to pick up his 20th save of the year. Edwin Encarnacion doubled with one out, and Willy Taveras walked with two down, putting runners at the corners. Joey Votto walked before Brandon Phillips struck out to end the game.
The win also moved the Cardinals into sole possession of first place in the National League Central Division, one game ahead of Milwaukee.
Chris Dickerson doubled leading off the bottom of the first. Taveras bunted for a hit and Dickerson scored on a throwing error from third baseman Thurston.
After Schumaker singled and Chris Duncan walked to start the game, Bailey retired 13 consecutive hitters hitting pegging Thurston with a pitch in the fifth.
There was also a scare for Hairston, who slid into a slab of cement at the bottom of the padded fence trying to chase a foul ball near the dugout in the third inning. Hairston then robbed Pujols of a hit with a diving grab in the fourth.
Cincinnati expanded the margin to 3-0 in the sixth. Phillips doubled in Taveras and scored on a Hairston base hit to center.
The Cardinals finally pushed ahead in the eighth after getting Bailey out of the game. Rasmus led off with a single and Schumaker walked with one out. Arthur Rhodes came in from the bullpen and threw four consecutive balls to pinch-hitter Hoffpauir.
David Weathers came in to face Pujols, who creamed a 2-2 pitch over the wall on a line drive to left-center field. The hit came just after a foul ball went out of the reach of Votto.
It was the 350th homer of his career and 10th career grand slam. He's also now 10-for-19 with three homers and nine RBI lifetime against Weathers.
Before this game, the Reds bullpen hadn't allowed a run since last Friday and a homer since June 20, a stretch of 31 2/3 innings.
Votto and Phillips singled off Josh Kinney to start the bottom of the eighth. Dennys Reyes entered to face Jay Bruce, who put down his first career sacrifice bunt, and Ramon Hernandez tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center off reliever Jason Motte (3-2). Phillips made it to third on the play, but was left stranded when Hairston struck out.
Game Notes
Encarnacion was activated from the 60-day disabled list. He had been on the DL since late April due to a chip fracture in his left wrist. The Reds opened a roster spot for Encarnacion by placing infielder Danny Richar on the 15-day DL with a torn labrum in his left shoulder...This was Bailey's longest outing of his career...It was Pineiro's first no-decision of the season.
<< Choo and Tribe pound A's
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shin-Soo Choo went 4-for-5 with two homers,
a career-high seven runs batted in and scored four times, as the Cleveland
Indians crushed the Oakland Athletics, 15-3, in the opener of a three-game
series
<< Bottom feeders, L.A., N.E. aim to gain ground
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two Major League Soccer clubs stuck in the
bottom third of their respective conference tables square off on Saturday when
the Los Angeles Galaxy host the New England Revolution at The Home Depot
Center.
<< Braves hold on to beat Nationals, extend win streak to five
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Conrad's first home run of his career
was a pinch-hit, three-run shot to help the Atlanta Braves take a 9-8 win over
the Washington Nationals in the opener of a three-game set.
Chipper Jones, Yunel Es
<< Stockton shares Edmonton Open lead with two others
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brady Stockton posted a three-under 69 Friday
to remain a co-leader after two rounds of the Edmonton Open.
Stockton, who shared the first-round lead with Robert Gates, completed 36
holes at 10-under-par
Moss and Vazquez lead Pirates over Marlins >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Moss and Ramon Vazquez hit early home
runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates shut down Hanley Ramirez, on the way to a 7-4
win over the Florida Marlins in the opener of a three-game series.
Charlie Morton
Rockies blank Diamondbacks >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jorge De La Rosa blanked the Diamondbacks
through eight innings, and Joel Peralta and Huston Street finished off
Colorado's 5-0 shutout of its NL West rival.
De La Rosa (5-7) won his third straig
Rangers get just enough offense to top Rays >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Blalock belted a two-run homer and
Tommy Hunter pitched 5 1/3 strong innings to collect his first win in the
majors on his 23rd birthday, as the Texas Rangers downed the Tampa Bay Rays,
3-1, in
Bowyer wins crash-filled Nationwide race at Daytona >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clint Bowyer held off Kyle Busch and Carl
Edwards in a green-white-checkered finish to win Friday's Subway Jalapeno 250
and record his first victory at Daytona International Speedway.
Bowyer, the 2008
MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
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LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
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