Bay and LaRoche help Bucs end skid

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche both drove in two runs, as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Houston Astros, 7-3, at PNC Park in game two of a three-game series for their first win since the All-Star break.

Freddy Sanchez homered and scored three times for the Pirates, who ended a season-high seven-game losing streak, having been swept in three games at Atlanta and then in three games at home against Colorado before losing the first game of this series.

Former first-round draft pick Paul Maholm (6-12) allowed two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and two walks over 6 2/3 innings to avoid a major league-leading 13th loss for the Bucs.

Mike Lamb homered for the Astros, who have split their last four. Eric Bruntlett finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the loss. Southpaw Wandy Rodriguez (6-9) gave up six runs - four earned - on seven hits with six strikeouts and a walk over five-plus frames.

Pittsburgh plated a pair of runs in the fourth. Matt Kata, Sanchez and LaRoche each led off with singles before Xavier Nady got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Sanchez then scored on a Bay sacrifice fly.

The Pirates added four more runs in the fifth. Jack Wilson lined a lead-off single, Maholm reached on a force attempt thanks to Morgan Ensberg's throwing error, and Kata scored Wilson on a ground-rule double. Sanchez next got intentionally walked for LaRoche, who made Rodriguez pay by singling in two runs. Bay capped the rally with his second straight sac fly.

Houston scored two runs in the seventh sparked by Lamb's lead-off homer to right-center field on a 1-1 pitch. Bruntlett then singled, Brad Ausmus walked, and pinch-hitter Craig Biggio advanced Bruntlett to third on a forceout. Hunter Pence next doubled in a run before Salomon Torres stopped the bleeding by inducing an inning-ending Mark Loretta groundout.

The Bucs answered with a run in the seventh off reliever Matt Albers, who surrendered a solo shot to Sanchez on a 3-1 pitch.

The Astros got another run in the eighth, as Ensberg, Lamb and Bruntlett hit three straight singles.

Game Notes

The Pirates got their season off to a promising start when they swept the Astros in Houston from April 2-4 to open the season. The club then hosted Houston from April 24-26 and took all three games of that set as well. It was a quick turnaround for a Pirates team that lost 13 of the 16 games they played against the Astros last season. That included seven losses in 10 home games in 2006...Houston stranded 10 runners in the game...Bay has 60 RBI on the season.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

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Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards