Meek, Pirates hold off Cardinals

Baseball Betting Lines

08/24/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Meek escaped a bases loaded jam to hold down Pittsburgh's 4-3 victory over St. Louis in the second test of a three- game series at PNC Park.

Meek gave up a single to Skip Schumaker and an infield base hit to Randy Winn before Aaron Miles bunted each runner up one base, putting the tying run at second base. Jon Jay then smoked a hot-shot grounder to short that loaded the bases for St. Louis' big bombers.

Albert Pujols scalded a grounder that bounded off Jose Tabata's glove and into shallow left, scoring one run and keeping the bases loaded. However, Meek bared down and got Matt Holliday to pop out to second before Felipe Lopez skied to short to finish off his second save.

Joel Hanrahan (3-1) picked up the victory with 1 1/3 frames of hitless relief. Paul Maholm started and pitched 6 2/3 effective frames, giving up two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Neil Walker drove in three runs and Tabata had two hits and two runs scored for the Pirates, winners in two of the last three games.

Adam Wainwright (17-8) was hit with the loss, giving up four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and four walks through seven frames. Holliday hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

The two big hitters for the Cardinals came through in the first as Pujols lined a two-out single to left-center and Holliday followed with a long home run into the bullpen in left-center field.

After working through a two-on, two-out jam in the first and navigating a one- out single in the second, Wainwright retired 11 straight batters until Andrew McCutchen smoked a two-bagger past Holliday in left. Tabata followed with a long drive that skipped to the wall, allowing the fleet-footed McCutchen to score as Tabata took third. Walker then came through with a game- tying single to right.

Maholm exited with a runner on first in the seventh, but Hanrahan induced a Pujols pop up to end the frame. The Pirates then seized the lead in the home half, as Ronny Cedeno doubled and moved to third on Delwyn Young's sacrifice bunt. After McCutchen grounded out, Tabata walked, stole second and joined Cedeno in crossing the plate on Walker's single to center.

Game Notes

Wainwright was attempting to become the first 18-game winner this season...Pittsburgh had lost 13 of 15 before Tuesday's victory...The Pirates scored more than two runs for just the second time in their last 13 games...Wainwright has lost two straight starts...St. Louis dropped to 9-5 at PNC Park since the start of the 2009 season...Pujols finished 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored, but stayed stuck at 399 career home runs.

Actioncitysportsbook Baseball Betting News

<< Tigers get 16 hits, pound Royals
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Rhymes and Brennan Boesch each finished with two hits and a pair of runs batted in to back seven shutout innings by Rick Porcello, as the Detroit Tigers routed the Kansas City Royals, 9-1, in the sec

<< Gonzalez, A's shut out Indians
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gio Gonzalez pitched seven stellar shutout innings to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game series. Gonzalez (11-8) allowed five hits an

<< Soriano, Colvin homer as Cubs edge Nats
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer and Tyler Colvin added a two-run blast to aid Carlos Zambrano's longest start of the year, as Chicago held on for a 5-4 win despite Washington's three-run ninth i

<< Okung out with high ankle sprain
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Russell Okung, the sixth overall pick in this year's draft, has a high sprain in his right ankle. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll called the sprain "moderate" and said

<< Phillies sign Nate Robertson to minor league deal
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have signed pitcher Nate Robertson to a minor league contract. Robertson made 19 appearances (18 starts) for the Florida Marlins this season before being released in July. T

Mets down Marlins on Castillo's ninth-inning hit >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Castillo's RBI single in the ninth gave the New York Mets a 6-5 win over the Florida Marlins in the opener of a three- game set. With Will Ohman (0-2) on the mound, Ike Davis singled to start the f

Bombers stay true to their name, use five HRs to crush Jays >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Teixeira, Marcus Thames and Jorge Posada homered off Marc Rzepczynski in a span of four at-bats during the third inning, propelling the New York Yankees to an 11-5 blowout of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Baghdatis advances in New Haven >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Marcos Baghdatis was an easy second-round winner in a rainy Tuesday at the $750,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final hardcourt U.S. Open tune-up. Baghdatis, a former Aussie Open runner-up and a

Stosur, Bartoli move on, Wickmayer exits in New Haven >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur advanced to the quarterfinals with a three-set victory over Sara Errani at the $600,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final hardcourt U.S. Open tune-up on Tuesday

Rangers hold on to edge Twins >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Young's infield single scored Andres Blanco with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, lifting Texas over Minnesota, 4-3, in a battle of division leaders. Josh Hamilton belted his 29th h

Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.