Huff's HRs lift Giants; D'Backs lose despite Johnson cycle

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff hit two home runs and drove in three, as the San Francisco Giants spoiled Kelly Johnson's cycle and beat the Diamondbacks, 7-4, in the continuation of a four-game series.

Andres Torres added the tie-breaking two-run triple in the seventh inning for the Giants, who took advantage of several Arizona errors to improve to 4-1 on their road trip. San Francisco beat Arizona by a 3-0 score in Thursday's series opener.

Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez got out of several jams to allow only one run. However, the left-hander lasted just five innings, as he threw 109 pitches, gave up four hits, walked five and struck out 10.

Santiago Casilla allowed three runs in the sixth while recording two outs, and Chris Ray (1-0) got the final one to get the win. Brian Wilson recorded the final four outs to earn his 28th save.

Johnson finished 4-for-4 and became the fourth player in team history to hit for the cycle, but it was not enough to keep the Diamondbacks from losing their fifth consecutive game to the Giants.

Edwin Jackson (6-9) took the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks in six-plus innings.

Huff and Johnson traded solo home runs in the first inning, and after Edgar Renteria hit an RBI single in the fourth, Huff's second homer gave the Giants a 3-1 lead in the sixth.

San Francisco held that lead because Sanchez avoided big trouble. Arizona had runners on second and third with one out in the first after Johnson homered, but Sanchez fanned Mark Reynolds before Rusty Ryal grounded out.

In the fourth, Arizona had runners on first and second with one out, but Sanchez got Chris Snyder to pop out, then struck out Jackson. The Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one away in the fifth before Sanchez again escaped trouble by fanning Reynolds and Ryal.

Arizona broke through against Casilla in the sixth. With runners on second and third and two down, Johnson tripled to center field to plate two and even the game. After Casilla walked Justin Upton, he was replaced by Ray, who gave up an RBI single to Adam LaRoche before getting out of the inning.

But the Giants re-took the lead in the seventh. Nate Schierholtz led off with a single before Eli Whiteside attempted a sacrifice bunt. However, Jackson couldn't make the throw in time in a close play, leaving runners on first and second.

Pinch-hitter Eugenio Velez followed with another bunt, and this time Jackson's throw sailed past first base, allowing Schierholtz to score. Torres then tripled to center to plate the remaining runners, putting San Francisco in front, 6-4.

Johnson came to bat to begin the eighth needing just a single to complete the cycle, and got just that, as he flared a base hit to right. However, Upton followed by grounding into a double play.

Huff's RBI single in the ninth provided the Giants a three-run lead before Wilson worked around a leadoff single by Ryal in the bottom half to close the game.

Game Notes

Huff recorded his 12th career multi-homer game...Prior to Johnson, Stephen Drew (2008), Greg Colbrunn (2002) and Luis Gonzalez (2000) also hit for the cycle for the Diamondbacks.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

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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