08/17/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Ethier hit two home runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth, to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-5, in the rubber match of a three-game set from Chavez Ravine.
Clayton Kershaw, the youngest player in the majors at 20 years of age, was solid on the hill despite the no-decision. The youngster gave up just one run on eight hits in six frames. Joe Beimel (4-0) snagged the win by recording the final out in the top of the ninth.
Manny Ramirez had a homer and ended with three RBI for the Dodgers, who have won six of seven overall and eight of their last nine at home. Matt Kemp notched his first career lead-off home run in the win. LA is now tied with Arizona for the lead in the NL West as the D-Backs fell 3-0 to the Astros on Sunday.
Brewers starter Jeff Suppan lasted six innings and yielded just four runs on nine hits for the no-decision. Mike Cameron had a solo homer for the Brewers, who have dropped three of their last four but still own a two-game lead over the Cardinals, who lost to the Reds 7-3 on Sunday, in the NL Wild Card race. Ryan Braun had a two-run homer and Ray Durham also had two RBI in defeat.
Trailing 5-1, the Brewers made it a game in the ninth. With one gone, Jason Kendall hit a single to center which chased Jason Johnson in favor of Chan Ho Park. Pinch-hitter Craig Counsell then reached as James Loney had trouble fielding his grounder, and both runners moved to scoring position as Loney botched the throw to first.
Durham kept it going with a two-run single to the right side and moved to second as J.J. Hardy grounded out. Braun, who had been sidelined with a strained ribcage, then golfed his 31st homer of the year just over the fence in left to tie the game at five.
"[Park] hung it a little," Braun said. "I think it was a slider. I got enough of it, but it doesn't mean much now because we lost the game."
The Dodgers responded in the bottom half against Carlos Villanueva (4-6). Kemp led off with a single and Ethier put to rest any hopes the Brewers had of an upset with a game-winning homer to right field.
"That was gut-wrenching," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "When you lose the lead, then win it in the ninth, that says a lot of our team. It was a big lift for us."
It was the first career game-winning home run for Ethier and his second career multi-homer game.
LA jumped on top in the first inning, as Kemp took the first pitch he saw and crushed it over the left-field fence. Ethier then went down swinging but Jeff Kent singled and Ramirez followed with his sixth homer as a Dodger for an early 3-0 lead.
The Brewers pulled within 3-1 in the fourth frame as Cameron launched a Kershaw fastball about a dozen rows beyond the left-field fence.
Ethier clubbed his 14th homer of the season, a solo blast to left in the fifth stanza, to make it a 4-1 affair.
The Dodgers tacked on another run in the seventh off Seth McClung. Ethier led off with a double, moved to third on Kent's ground out and crossed home as Ramirez singled to left.
Game Notes
The Dodgers won two of three games against the Brewers earlier this season and are 6-2 over the last eight meetings between these teams. Milwaukee has dropped nine of its last 11 at Dodger Stadium.
<< Rams G Setterstrom suffers sprained left knee
Mequon, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams guard Mark Setterstrom injured
his left knee in a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers on Saturday
and could miss the rest of the season.
Setterstrom, a seventh-round pick of the
<< Brewers' Weeks leaves game early
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie
Weeks left Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Dodgers in the sixth inning with a
sprained left thumb.
Weeks said the injury occurred as he struck out in the f
<< Red Bulls overcome adversity to shut down TFC, 2-0
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC
entered their Major League Soccer fixture on Sunday deadlocked at the bottom
of the Eastern Conference table.
But New York (7-6-7) now has new life this se
<< Vazquez, four homers help ChiSox dominate A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexei Ramirez had a grand slam and Juan Uribe
and Carlos Quentin each hit two-run homers, as the Chicago White Sox pummeled
the Oakland Athletics, 13-1, in the rubber match of a three-game series at
McAfee
Bengals WR Johnson leaves game early >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson
left Sunday's preseason game against the Detroit Lions in the first quarter
after landing awkwardly on his left shoulder.
Lions cornerback Brian Kelly hit Joh
Rams G Setterstrom, T Gorin lost for the season >>
Mequon, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams guard Mark Setterstrom injured
his left knee in a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers on Saturday
and will miss the rest of the season with a fractured patella.
Setterstrom, a sev
Hamels makes it happen as Phils edge Pads >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cole Hamels got his first win in a month
and a half to help the Philadelphia Phillies take a 2-1 win in the conclusion
of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Hamels (10-8) g
McCown, Bucs beat Pats >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke McCown went 7-for-10 with 79 yards and a
touchdown as the Tamp Bay Buccaneers downed the New England Patriots, 27-10,
in preseason action.
Earnest Graham had a one-yard touchdown run while Michael
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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