07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Sadowski will shoot for an encore performance tonight for the NL Wild Card-leading San Francisco Giants, who will open a 10-game homestand with the first of three consecutive meetings versus the Houston Astros at AT&T Park.
Sadowski made his major league debut Sunday at Milwaukee and threw six shutout innings in a 7-0 victory, scattering four hits and striking out two batters with three walks. The right-hander was 5-2 with a 4.11 earned run average in 13 starts for Triple-A Fresno before being recalled.
The Giants hope that Sadowski can pitch them back into the win column after losing the last two tests of a four-game series in St. Louis. In Thursday's 5-2 loss at Busch Stadium, veteran starter and 2002 AL Cy Young recipient Barry Zito yielded all five runs and five hits with seven K's and three walks over 4 1/3 frames to absorb the loss.
"Everything they hit fell in, similar to the first two games for us," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "We didn't play well defensively the last two days either. We made some mistakes we haven't been doing."
Aaron Rowand provided the offense with a two-run homer for the Giants, who went 5-5 on a 10-game trek and sit a half-game ahead of both the Brewers and Cardinals in the Wild Card standings. San Francisco will host Houston, Florida and San Diego on the residency and has won three straight as the host.
Houston recently won three of four matchups in San Diego and recorded a 7-2 victory in Thursday's series finale. Wandy Rodriguez started for the Astros and earned the win with seven innings of one-run ball, while allowing seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
Geoff Blum hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs for Houston, and Lance Berkman ended with two hits, three runs scored and an RBI in the win. Carlos Lee also contributed two hits and knocked in a run for the Astros, who have won six of eight games and are 3 1/2 games behind San Francisco in the Wild Card race.
"The key is to keep winning series'," said Astros manager Cecil Cooper. "That's the name of the game and we've been able to do that quite a bit lately and that's good."
Taking the ball for Cooper's club tonight will be Felipe Paulino, who is 2-4 with a 5.51 ERA in 12 games (9 starts) this season. Paulino won his most recent start Saturday versus Detroit, as he held the Tigers to a run on three hits over seven innings. He also struck out nine batters and issued no walks.
Paulino, a right-hander, recorded his first win since May 2 at Atlanta and will face San Francisco for the first time tonight. He is, however, just 1-3 in five games, three of which have been starts, on the visiting mound.
Houston and San Francisco are meeting for the first time since the Astros took seven of the eight meetings a year ago. Houston went 3-1 at AT&T Park in 2008.
<< Federer reaches record seventh straight Wimbledon final
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer
defeated Tommy Haas in Friday's men's semifinal action at Wimbledon. The
iconic Federer will now appear in a men's record seventh straight Wimbledon
final on Sunday.
<< Rockies to open homestand with last-place Diamondbacks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies are back home after a lengthy road
trip and will open a three-game series tonight against the National League
West-rival Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field.
Colorado went 5-4 on a nine-game road swing
<< Reeling Indians try to get back on track vs. A's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have been playing poorly since mid-
June and will try to stop a five-game losing streak tonight in the opener of a
three-game series versus the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field.
The Indians have
<< Twins try to gain ground in Central in opener with Tigers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have an opportunity to gain some
ground on the division-leading Detroit Tigers when the American League Central
rivals begin a key three-game series tonight at the Metrodome.
The Twins presently trail
Rangers sign Arnason >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers inked forward Tyler
Arnason to a two-way contract on Friday.
The 30-year-old posted five goals and 22 points in 71 games for the Avalanche
last season.
Over 487 career contests
Blue Jays bring up Dellucci, designate Adams for assignment >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays purchased the contract of
outfielder David Dellucci from Triple-A Las Vegas and designated infielder
Russ Adams for assignment on Friday.
The 35-year-old Dellucci signed a minor lea
Sol's Abily claims WPS Player of Month >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Sol midfielder Camille Abily
was selected as the WPS Player of the Month for June.
The 24-year-old French international from Rennes had five goals in the month
of June, helping the Sol to
NL West: Dodgers welcome back Manny with road trip >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's some sort of buzz going on right now in Los
Angeles. Is Eric Karros making a return to the Dodgers? Did Juan Pierre
embarrass himself by rapping in public again?
Oh wait, Manny Ramirez is returning f
The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.
Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.
Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.
A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.
Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.
Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.
And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.
2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win
Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1
Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1
Donald Brown (IND) 5/1
Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1
Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1
Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1
Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1
Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1
Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1
Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1
Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1
Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1
Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1
Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1
Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1
Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1
LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1
Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1
Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1
Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1
Jason Smith (STL) 40/1
Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1
Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1
Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1
Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2
Pat White (MIA) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 9/1
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