Hoffpauir's first career hit, Pujols' slam lifts Cards over Reds
Baseball Betting Lines
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.
<< White Sox stay hot, upend Greinke's Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Danks was dominant in 7 1/3 shutout
innings, as the red-hot Chicago White Sox extended their season-best winning
streak to seven games with a 5-0 blanking of the Kansas City Royals.
Danks (7-6) h
<< 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
Mariners squeak past Red Sox in 11 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rob Johnson went 3-for-5 with three doubles,
including a two-run double in the top of the 11th, to lift the Seattle
Mariners past the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox, 7-6, in the opener of a
three-g
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
NFL Football Betting Online
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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