Cardinals hang on to edge Marlins
Baseball Betting Lines
08/14/2008 -
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus collected a game-high four hits and
finished with an RBI and a run scored to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the
Florida Marlins, 6-4, in the third game of a four-game set at Dolphin Stadium.
Jason LaRue knocked in the go-ahead runs with a double in the seventh and Skip
Schumaker posted three hits for the Cardinals, who won for just the third time
in seven games.
Mike Jacobs drove in two runs on a pair of hits for the Marlins, who have come
up on the losing end in 13 of the last 18 times they played the Cardinals in
South Beach.
Braden Looper (11-9) earned the win against his former team in seven innings
of work. The righty only allowed one earned run, two total, on five hits and
one walk, while striking out five.
"The couple mistakes I made today didn't cost me," Looper said. "In my last
couple games [against the Marlins] I made a few and it seems like they hit a
homer every time, where today I made a few mistakes and got away with them."
Renyel Pinto (2-4) suffered the loss as the second Florida pitcher of the
night. In only two-third of an inning, Pinto was tagged for two runs on two
hits.
The game was even at two, but the Cardinals tallied two runs in the seventh
for their first lead of the game and they stayed in front the rest of the way.
Schumaker and Albert Pujols led off with back-to-back singles and then moved
to second and third, respectively, on a deep fly ball hit by Ryan Ludwick.
Then with two outs, Justin Miller handed Glaus an intentional walk and LaRue
made him pay with a two-run double to center that plated Schumaker and Pujols,
while Glaus was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
In the eighth, the Cardinals pushed their edge to 5-2 on an RBI single to left
by Schumaker. Adam Kennedy came around on the one-out hit after he smacked a
base hit and moved into scoring position on a single by Cesar Izturis.
The Marlins almost drew even in the bottom of the frame but came up one short
at 5-4. Pinch-hitter Wes Helms blooped in a lead-off single and jogged to
second when the next batter, Hanley Ramirez, was hit with a 2-2 pitch. After a
fly out, Helms ran through a stop sign to score on a single to left by Jorge
Cantu. Jacobs then brought in Ramirez with a double to right to make it a one-
run game. Dan Uggla drew a walk to load the bases with one out, but Chris
Perez got Josh Willingham to ground into a double play to end the threat.
The Cards added an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI double by Glaus that
plated Felipe Lopez, who reached with a triple.
Perez recorded his third save of the year, a five-out one in which he only
allowed two walks, while also striking out two.
Ricky Nolasco walked away with a no-decision for Florida after he surrendered
two runs on 10 hits in six innings.
"I tried to keep us close," Nolasco said. "I had a lot of base-runners on
base. I just tried to limit the damage and make pitches. Just battled. Tried
to do my job right there."
The Marlins opened up the scoring right away with a run in the first thanks to
an error by Glaus. Ramirez led off and reached first when Glaus could not
handle a ball hit to third. Ramirez eventually got to second with two outs on
a Cantu groundout, and the shortstop raced home via a base hit to left by
Jacobs.
St. Louis knotted the game at one in the fourth on a sacrifice fly to left hit
by Kennedy. Glaus crossed the plate after he led off with a single, moved to
second on a LaRue groundout and trotted to third on a single by Looper.
In the fifth, the Marlins grabbed a 2-1 edge after they loaded the bases with
one out on three straight singles by John Baker, Alfredo Amezaga and Nolasco.
Baker then came around on the fourth consecutive base hit of the inning by
Ramirez.
But once again, the Cardinals would draw even in the sixth when Rick Ankiel
scored on Kennedy's sac fly to left.
Game Notes
The Cardinals pounded out 18 hits...St. Louis has seven errors in its last
four games...The Marlins have gone a season-high four games without an error.
<< D-Backs reinstate Slaten from DL, option Buckner
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated left-handed
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with a 4.40 earned
<< Wells' slam helps Blue Jays hold off Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells clubbed his fifth career grand
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staved off a late rally to edge the Detroit Tigers, 4-3, in the third
install
<< A's lose Chavez for rest of season
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<< Rangers' Hamilton leaves game to be with pregnant wife
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<< Del Potro survives scare to advance in DC
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Hawpe, Rox edge D'Backs >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Hawpe clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom
of the eighth inning and the Colorado Rockies withstood a ninth-inning charge
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out Kansas City for the second game in a row, 4-0.
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The San Jose Earthquakes >>
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
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