Padres rock Pirates in Matos' return

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everth Cabrera and Oscar Salazar each drove in two runs and Mat Latos was solid in his return from the disabled list, as the San Diego Padres dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-2, in the second test of a three-game set at PNC Park.

Latos (11-4) lasted six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits to win his sixth straight decision. The right-hander also stuck out seven and walked two. Latos went on the DL on July 16 with a strained left oblique muscle.

Nick Hundley, Chase Headley, Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Denorfia each knocked in a run for the Padres, who won 5-3 in the opener of this series.

Jose Tabata and Delwyn Young hit solo homers for the Pirates, who have dropped three in a row.

Jeff Karstens (2-6) went six frames in the start, giving up four runs -- two earned -- on seven hits to drop his fourth straight decision. He also struck out five and walked two.

Trailing 2-1, the Padres plated three runs in the sixth to take the lead. Jerry Hairston Jr. reached on third baseman Pedro Alvarez's fielding error and Denorfia walked to get things going. Gonzalez and Headley followed with back- to-back RBI singles. Will Venable was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out for Hundley, who hit a sacrifice fly for a 4-2 lead.

Pittsburgh stranded a runner in scoring position in the sixth and seventh frames.

San Diego scored five times in the eighth to turn the game into a rout. Sean Gallagher started the inning on the mound for the Pirates and loaded the bases without recording an out. His balk plated Headley. Hundley walked to load the bases again, and a rain delay that lasted 42 minutes followed.

D.J. Carrasco was on the mound when the contest got back underway. Cabrera grounded out to score a run. Salazar then knocked in two runs with a pinch-hit double. Denorfia added an RBI single two batters later to make it 9-2.

Tim Stauffer pitched a perfect two frames of relief to seal the victory.

After stranding runners on second and third in the second, Pittsburgh got a leadoff homer from Tabata in the third to take a 1-0 lead.

San Diego tied the contest in the top of the fifth. Venable singled, stole second, advanced to third on Hundley's groundout, and crossed the plate on Cabrera's base hit. Latos grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The Pirates took the lead back in the home fifth on Young's homer to right- center field.

Game Notes

San Diego optioned outfielder Luis Durango to Triple-A Portland...The Padres are 22-9 at Pittsburgh since the start of the 2001 season...The Pirates were without outfielder Andrew McCutchen (right shoulder).

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.