Dodgers beat up Lilly, Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

07/10/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Martin clubbed a three-run homer, while Andre Ethier delivered three hits and two RBI as the Dodgers held off the Chicago Cubs, 9-7, in the second installment of a four-game series.

Casey Blake also knocked in two runs for Los Angeles, which won for the eighth time in 11 games.

Chad Billingsley (7-4) broke his five-start winless skid by fanning nine batters over seven-plus innings. He yielded seven hits, four runs and walked four batters, but managed to record his first victory since May 26 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

"I was aggressive in the strike zone tonight," Billingsley said. "I was able to get quick outs in the middle of the game, which allowed me to go back out there in the eighth. I was able to make pitches when I had to."

Marlon Byrd had four hits and knocked in three runs for the Cubs, who lost 3-2 in the opener Thursday after coming into the series off a three-game sweep of Arizona.

Ted Lilly (3-8) was pounded for a second straight start, giving up seven hits and seven runs -- five earned -- over 3 2/3 innings. The lefty has given up 18 hits and 14 earned runs over the last two appearances.

"Ted wasn't sharp at all. He's gotten the ball up in his last couple of starts," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "The key to the game was we had ample opportunities early and we didn't take advantage of it and they did."

The Cubs have fanned 26 times in the first two games of this series.

Chicago nearly rallied from a six-run deficit. Justin Miller's wild pitch scored Byrd in the eighth and Koyie Hill followed with a sacrifice fly for a 9-5 difference.

Kosuke Fukudome singled to start the ninth. The Dodgers then went to Jonathan Broxton, who retired the next two batters, but Aramis Ramirez tripled before scoring on a Byrd base hit. Byrd was in scoring position when Tyler Colvin struck out to end the game.

Chicago loaded the bases with nobody out in the second, but got just one run - on Mike Fontenot's groundout. Billingsley fanned Hill and Lilly to escape the inning.

James Loney singled and Blake walked in advance of Martin's homer to left in the bottom of the second.

After Byrd singled in a run in the third, the Dodgers added three more in the bottom of the frame. Ethier had an RBI single and Matt Kemp added a run- scoring double. Ethier came home on Blake's sacrifice fly.

Ethier's single to right scored Xavier Paul in the fourth for a 7-2 margin.

The teams traded runs in the fifth with Byrd's groundout plating Derrek Lee in the top half and Blake's two-bagger scoring Loney for the Dodgers. Loney's RBI double in the sixth made it 9-3.

Game Notes

LA has won seven of its last nine regular season meetings with the Cubs at Dodger Stadium...Ramirez had three hits...Blake went 1-for-2 at the plate. He entered Friday just 2-for-25 in July.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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