Brewers edge Padres; Stairs sets HR mark

Baseball Betting Lines

08/21/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Dickerson had two hits and two runs batted in and Mike McClendon worked three scoreless innings to earn his first major-league win as Milwaukee downed San Diego, 6-5, in the middle meeting of a three-game set.

Ryan Braun hit his first home run since July 24 while Prince Fielder singled, scored a run, drove in a run and walked twice to lead the Brewers to a fourth straight win.

McClendon (1-0) allowed one hit, walked three and struck out three in his second big league outing. John Axford tossed 1 2/3 scoreless frames to garner his 19th save of the season for Milwaukee, which evened the season series at three games apiece.

"The first night I thought my sinker was definitely on. I could put it where I wanted to. Tonight, I had to mix it up and just see what happens," said the rookie right-hander when asked to compare his first two outings. "It was pretty exciting" describing what it felt like to get his first career win. "That was one of the best games I've ever seen or ever been a part of."

Kevin Correia (10-8) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings for the Padres, who have lost two straight after a five-game win streak.

Matt Stairs' two-run pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning cut the Brewers' lead to 6-5 and was the 21st of his career to establish a new record.

Alcides Escobar doubled with one out in the first and scored the game's first run on a two-out single by Fielder.

Escobar and Fielder walked around a Braun single to load the bases with nobody out in the third for Casey McGehee, who delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Escobar to push the lead to 2-0. Lorenzo Cain singled to reload the bases for Dickerson, who drove in Braun with a ground ball out.

San Diego used a Ryan Ludwick single and walks to Chase Headley and Yorvit Torrealba to load the bases with nobody out in the fourth. Chris Denorfia followed with a two-run double to left to cut the lead to 3-2 and chase Chris Narveson from the hill.

McClendon took over and walked Scott Hairston to reload the bases before a base hit by Corriea plated Torreabla to tie the game. However, the visitors were unable to push across any more runs after David Eckstein and Miguel Tejada bounced into force plays at the plate and Adrian Gonzalez struck out.

Narveson was charged with three runs on four hits and three walks in three- plus innings of work in his first career start against San Diego.

Fielder started the fifth inning with a walk, moved to second base on a McGehee single and to third on a Cain fielder's choice grounder that also brought Correia's night to an end.

"It wasn't a great outing, obviously," commented Correia. "I definitely had some opportunities to turn it into a decent start but they had a different approach then I thought they were going to have. They waited on my off-speed stuff and that's where they got all of their hits. It was a good mindset for them and I just wasn't up to the task."

Joe Thatcher was brought on to face Dickerson, who delivered a sacrifice fly to push Fielder across with the go-ahead run. Cain stole second and scored when Jonathan Lucroy singled into right field to make it a 5-3 game.

Braun's two-out solo shot to left-center off Ernesto Frieri in the sixth extended the home team's lead to 6-3.

After Zach Braddock tossed a scoreless seventh inning, Kameron Loe assumed the hill for Milwaukee in the eighth. Denorfia singled with one out and scored when Stairs followed with his blast to right field. Loe was lifted after the next pitch to Will Venable and replaced by Axford.

Venable singled and stole second but was left stranded when Tejada struck out to end the frame. Axford then set down San Diego in turn in the ninth to end the game.

Game Notes

Stairs and Cliff Johnson had shared the record for pinch-hit homers with 20 before coming into Saturday's game...Milwaukee's Corey Hart did not play in the game due to tightness in his right hamstring that caused him to leave Friday's game...McGehee has 24 RBI during August...He finished 2-for-3 for his 34th multi-hit game of the season...Braun snapped a string of 87 at-bats without a long ball since his prior home run off Washington's J.D. Martin...He finished 2-for-4 to collect his 44th multi-hit game of the season...Eckstein was activated off the 15-day disabled list prior to the game...He had been sidelined since July 21 with a right calf strain...Correia had won his last three starts overall and his last three road turns before falling Saturday night...Gonzalez went 1-for-5 and had a five-game multi-hit streak at Miller Park snapped...San Diego is 22-7 against the NL Central. Milwaukee is 48-6 when leading after seven innings.

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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.

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