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Pirates go for sweep of DodgersBaseball Betting Lines04/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't had many strong finishes over the years, but the club is starting to make a habit of good starts. The Bucs take on the Los Angeles Dodgers once again this afternoon at PNC Park, where the long-suffering club will try to record its first sweep of the defending National League West champions in more than nine years. Pittsburgh, which extended a dubious major league record by registering a 17th consecutive losing season in 2009, followed up Monday's 11-5 rout of the Dodgers with an extra-inning victory on Wednesday. Ronny Cedeno gave the Pirates a 4-3 decision by delivering a bases-loaded single with one out in the bottom of the 10th. After Lastings Milledge began Pittsburgh's half of the 10th by reaching on an error by Dodgers second baseman Blake DeWitt, Andy LaRoche and Jeff Clement each drew one-out walks off Ramon Ortiz before Cedeno ended a nine-pitch at- bat by lacing a line drive into the left-center field gap. Brendan Donnelly, one of five Pirate relievers, picked up the win after tossing a scoreless top of the 10th. The Pittsburgh bullpen combined to throw five shutout innings on the night. Garrett Jones belted a three-run homer off Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw in the top of the first, two days after the Pittsburgh outfielder slugged a pair of round-trippers on Opening Day. Kershaw kept the Pirates off the scoreboard over the remainder of his season debut, but lasted just 4 2/3 innings and walked six batters while throwing 109 pitches. "I wasn't giving our team a chance (to win)," Kershaw said. "There were times where I could have been out of innings, and walking the pitcher twice is just terrible. A lot of things that went wrong for me (Wednesday), so it's just something I have to get better at." Russell Martin had a solo homer for Los Angeles, with Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier also coming up with RBI hits during a three-run fifth inning. The Pirates have now won their first series of the season for the third time in four years. They'll be shooting for their first sweep of the Dodgers since September 4-6, 2000 when they take the field this afternoon. Los Angeles, which won 95 games en route to an NL West crown in 2009, has now lost four straight times to the Bucs at PNC Park and are 1-5 over their last six games played in the Steel City. Chad Billingsley takes the mound for the Dodgers in today's finale and looks to again get his season off to a good start. The stocky right-hander won his first four assignments of 2009 en route to an appearance in last summer's All- Star Game, although he struggled mightily over the final few weeks of the season. Billingsley had a 12-6 record after defeating eventual NL Central champion St. Louis on August 18, but lost his final five decisions and had a subpar 5.31 earned run average over his last eight outings (7 starts). He wasn't overly sharp during spring training either, issuing 10 walks and allowing nine runs over 17 1/3 innings in Cactus League play. The former first-round draft choice does own a 2-0 record in six career games (2 starts) against Pittsburgh, but has a 6.46 ERA over that stretch. Billingsley did not face the Pirates last season. Paul Maholm gets the call for the Bucs this afternoon and will be out to improve upon a so-so 2009 campaign. The former Mississippi State star went 8-9 with a 4.44 ERA in 31 starts last season, his fourth full one in the majors. Maholm did usually pitch well in his home stadium last year, having produced a solid 3.50 ERA along with a 4-3 record over 16 PNC Park starts. The left- hander allowed just six home runs in 105 1/3 innings of work over the course of those games. The 27-year-old's final start of 2009 came against the Dodgers at PNC Park, with Maholm receiving a no-decision in an 8-4 Pittsburgh loss after giving up three runs over seven innings. He's still yet to beat Los Angeles, though, having gone 0-3 with a 5.59 ERA through six previous encounters with the Dodgers.
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Online Sportsbook Football BettingColts give the ‘D’ its dueThe Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain. They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities. "They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure." Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line. New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest. Not so sound on the ground If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU. Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com “We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star. Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground. Brees says bring it on Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites. Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship. Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game. "I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time." SportsBooks ready for a shootout Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses. “This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.” New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts. The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game. “Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.” MySportsbook.com is one of the most efficient and professional online sportsbook today. While some sportsbooks only excel during the busiest seasons, MySportsbook is an excellent choice for the player who wants year-round quality. 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Those who are looking for perks and high bonuses would be best suited in a sportsbook geared towards the regular player. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs. |
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