Berkman leads Astros over Pirates in Houston
Baseball Betting Lines
07/06/2010 -
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman homered and drove in three runs
to back seven sturdy innings from Wandy Rodriguez in Houston's 6-2 win over
Pittsburgh in the opener of a three-game set.
Michael Bourn had two hits and scored twice and Jeff Keppinger added three
hits and drove in a run as the Astros snapped a three-game slide.
Rodriguez (6-10) struck out a season-high 10 and yielded just a single run on
four hits and a pair of walks for Houston, which has won all four meetings
between the teams this season.
Houston area-native Brad Lincoln (1-3) suffered the loss in his homecoming
after being charged with five runs on seven hits and a walk over five frames
for the Pirates, who lost for just the second time in their last six games.
Bourn used his speed to create the first of two runs in the first for the
Astros. He led off with an infield single off the glove of Lincoln, stole
second, moved to third on a fly out and scored on a Berkman ground out.
Carlos Lee then clubbed a solo home run to left-center to make it 2-0.
Bourn started a three-run rally in the third with a one-out single and came in
to score on a Keppinger double that was followed by Berkman's two-run blast to
left for a 5-0 game.
The Pirates dented the scoreboard in the next half inning when Ryan Doumit
singled home Andrew McCutchen, who started the frame with a base hit and went
to third on a one-out single by Pedro Alvarez. A base hit by Lastings Milledge
then loaded the bases but the Pirates could not produce any more runs after
Bobby Crosby fouled out and Lincoln struck out.
Hunter Pence doubled home Lee in the seventh off Javy Lopez to extend the lead
to 6-1.
Wilton Lopez took over for Rodriguez in the eighth and was lifted with one out
and a runner on second and followed by Tim Byrdak, who gave up a base hit to
Garrett Jones that cut the Astros' lead to 6-2. The veteran southpaw then
retired Alvarez and Doumit to end the threat.
Game Notes
Lincoln grew up in Clute, TX and lives in Pearland, TX...He was expecting
somewhere between 150-200 family and friends to be at the game...His first
career start for the University of Houston came in the College Classic at
Minute Maid Park on February 15, 2004 against nationally-ranked Texas...He
played in the same tournament a year later against then 10th-ranked Baylor
and had three hits and drove in a run...The Astros improved to 20-6 against
the Pirates since September 8, 2008...Keppinger extended his hitting streak to
eight games and has 26 multi-hit games on the season...Rodriguez is 6-4 in 13
career starts against the Buccos...Alvarez extended his hitting streak to
eight games...The Pirates fell to 12-42 when scoring fewer than four runs.
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
New York Giants betting lines
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Dallas Cowboys betting lines
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
Oakland Raiders betting lines
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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