Berkman helps Astros squeak by Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

04/22/2009 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman hit a game-tying homer and Ivan Rodriguez singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, lifting the Houston Astros to a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer and Jason Michaels added a two-run double for the Astros, who also won Tuesday in the first contest of this three-game series.

Houston starter Roy Oswalt allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings, but did not factor into the decision. Chris Sampson (1-0) took the win despite allowing a potentially decisive run in two relief innings, while LaTroy Hawkins tossed a perfect ninth to nail down his second save.

Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Casey Blake all homered in the sixth inning for the Dodgers, who have now lost two in a row following an eight-game win streak.

Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp, who had gotten at least one hit in each of the season's first 14 games, went 0-for-4.

Ronald Belisario (0-1) took the loss after allowing the two runs in the bottom of the eighth. He followed LA starter Randy Wolf, who gave up four runs on eight hits in seven frames of work.

With the game tied at four runs apiece, Los Angeles edged in front in the top of the eighth. Facing Sampson, Ethier singled and scored on a James Loney double to left, and suddenly the Dodgers had a 5-4 lead.

Sampson, though, worked out of further trouble and the Astros took the lead in the bottom half. Berkman smacked a one-out solo shot to left field to tie the contest, and after Carlos Lee grounded out, Pence hit a ground-rule double to right.

Belisario unfurled a wild pitch that allowed Pence to move to third, and Belisario intentionally walked pinch-hitter Geoff Blum. But Rodriguez avoided the force out by smacking a grounder back up the middle to plate Pence and give Houston a 6-5 edge.

Hawkins took the mound for the Astros in the ninth and set the Dodgers down in order to end the game.

Houston took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. After Lee singled with one away, Pence crushed a fastball at the knees over the fence in left-center field.

But Los Angeles surged ahead with a four-run sixth, which Ramirez and Ethier began with consecutive homers. Russell Martin then walked with one out, and after Kemp struck out, Blake homered to left to give the Dodgers a 4-2 edge.

Michaels had a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-4 game.

Game Notes

Michaels finished with two doubles in the game...Oswalt tied the franchise record for starts with 245...The Dodgers hadn't had back-to-back homers since September 3 of last season and hadn't hit three in an inning since May 15 of the same year...Berkman's homer was his 292nd with the Astros, moving him past Craig Biggio into second place in Houston franchise history.

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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

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