Braves use big seventh inning to beat Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

06/06/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus' two-run homer and a two-run double by Brian McCann keyed a seven-run seventh inning, as the Braves came away with a 9-3 win over the Dodgers in the third of four games from Chavez Ravine.

Omar Infante had a two-run base hit and Brooks Conrad a pinch-hit single to open the scoring for Atlanta, which batted around in the frame. McCann added a two-RBI hit in the eighth to finish with four driven in.

Tommy Hanson (6-3) won his third straight start, allowing a pair of runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks over six innings for the Braves, who had a nine-game winning streak halted via a 5-4 verdict on Friday.

Chad Billingsley (6-3) pitched into the seventh but was pulled after allowing the first three batters to reach base. Each came around to score with the right-hander ending with a line of three runs, seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts. He had won his previous four decisions and helped himself early on with a run-scoring double.

Los Angeles had won five of its last six coming in.

Three consecutive singles to start the fateful seventh got Atlanta its first run on Conrad's poke into center. That brought out Ramon Troncoso from the bullpen, but the carnage continued.

A sacrifice bunt by Martin Prado moved up the runners and Infante brought in both with a base hit to left. Jason Heyward walked and was quickly crossing the plate along with Infante courtesy of a double off the base of the left- field wall from McCann.

Manny Ramirez took a curious line toward the ball and watched it one-hop out of his reach as McCann took third on the eventual throw in. Ronald Belisario took over pitching duties and promptly served up Glaus' two-run homer to center field for a sudden 7-2 difference.

McCann made it a seven-run game with his two-out single an inning later, and LA went in order facing Peter Moylan in the bottom half. Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth and was touched for a Rafael Furcal infield hit that scored a run before finishing out the frame.

The Dodgers manufactured single runs in the second and third innings to secure an early advantage. After a Jamey Carroll double-play ball in the second, Blake DeWitt singled and Billingsley lifted a double to center field to forge a 1-0 edge.

Matt Kemp tripled to deep center just over the outstretched glove of Nate McLouth leading off the third and scored to make it a two-run affair when Andre Ethier hit a sacrifice fly.

Game Notes

Furcal had three hits, while DeWitt had two and scored two of the three Dodger runs. Ethier stole his first base of the season...Glaus' home run was his 11th on the year. He has 44 RBI in 56 games this season...Prado collected a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 games...The Dodgers had a 24-1 record when leading after six innings entering play Saturday...Hanson has won five of his last six decisions overall.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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