07/05/2009 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vladimir Guerrero capped a six-run eighth inning with a monster three-run homer, as Los Angeles overcame an early deficit to wallop Baltimore, 11-4, in the third matchup of a four-game set at Angel Stadium.
Torii Hunter finished 2-for-4 with a walk and three RBI for Los Angeles, which has won has won eight of its last 11 games. Bobby Abreu collected three hits, walked, scored twice and knocked in a run, while Chone Figgins and Juan Rivera each drove in a run.
Angels starter Sean O'Sullivan gave up four runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings, but did not factor in the decision. Jason Bulger (3-1) hurled 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the victory.
"We banged out 17 hits and with Vladimir going deep, that was definitely nice," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "A good offensive night."
Adam Jones went 3-for-4 and had two RBI for the Orioles, who have lost five of seven.
Jason Berken got the start for Baltimore and allowed three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits in four-plus innings of work. Danys Baez (4-3) yielded two runs and three hits in his lone inning to take the loss.
Once down 4-0, the Angels forged ahead in the seventh on a costly misplay.
Baez took over on the mound at the start of the inning for Matt Albers, who tossed two scoreless frames, and quickly ran into trouble as the Angels loaded the bases with no outs on a pair of singles and a walk.
A double-play grounder by Guerrero tied the game at four, and then Rivera hit a routine pop up to shallow right field that fell in between Nick Markakis and second baseman Brian Roberts, producing the go-ahead run.
Los Angeles blew the game open with six runs in the eighth off Brian Bass. A one-out double by Figgins plated a run and put two men in scoring position. Following an intentional walk to Abreu, Hunter lined a two-run single to left. Guerrero then clobbered a pitch to the seats in left field for an 11-4 Angels lead.
"We had breakdowns in a lot of areas and we paid the price for it," said Baltimore manager Dave Trembley. "You could feel the momentum change in the fifth inning. We didn't get outs when we needed to."
Baltimore put up a three-spot in the third, stringing together four straight hits to begin the inning. Gregg Zaun led off with a double, Robert Andino singled and Roberts doubled to right field to drive in the first run of the game. Jones continued the hit parade with an RBI single, and Markakis followed with a sacrifice fly.
Another base hit by Jones extended the lead to 4-0 in the top of the fifth, but Los Angeles responded with three runs in the bottom half of the frame.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, Abreu punched a single through the left side of the infield to put the Angels on the board and chase Berken from the mound in favor of Albers.
A groundout by Hunter made it 4-2, and Guerrero slapped a single up the middle, closing the gap to one run. Albers, though, was able to get Rivera to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Game Notes
Maicer Izturis had three hits for the Angels...Los Angeles finished 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position, while Baltimore was 4-for-8...Berken won his major league debut on May 26, but since then the right-hander has lost five of his last seven starts.
<< Cunningham's brace leads FCD past New York
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Cunningham scored a pair of first-half
goals to lead FC Dallas to a 2-1 victory against the New York Red Bulls at
Pizza Hut Park on Saturday.
Cunningham scored his second goal of the season in the
<< Dynamo extend MLS lead with win at K.C.
Kansas City, KA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo extended their lead atop
Major League Soccer's overall table with a 1-0 win at the Kansas City Wizards
on Saturday night.
Kei Kamara scored the game's only goal in the 18th minute to h
<< Chicago moves to top of Eastern table with win at Colorado
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire moved into a tie with
D.C. United at the top of Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference table with
a 2-1 win at the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.
First-half goals by Marco Pappa
<< Stewart wins in a firework finish at Daytona
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Stewart won Saturday's Coke Zero 400
in a dramatic finish at Daytona International Speedway.
Stewart moved to the outside of leader Kyle Busch coming out of the final turn
of the last lap. Busch atte
Yanks hope to stay hot against Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot New York Yankees will try to continue their
strong play when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the third installment
of a four-game set at Yankee Stadium.
Brett Cecil will toe the rubber for the Blue Jays t
Cellar dwellers put the finishing touches on set in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians will try to complete the three-game
sweep over the Oakland Athletics this afternoon when the two teams close their
series at Progressive Field.
Gio Gonzalez will head to the mound for the A's in searc
Mariners take aim at first-ever three-game sweep at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners hope to complete their first-ever
three-game sweep in Boston this afternoon when they wrap up their set with the
Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Jon Lester will try to stop that from happening, though, as he
White Sox, Royals close four-game set in Kansas City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Bannister will try to get back on the winning side
of things when he takes the hill this afternoon for the Kansas City Royals in
the finale of a four-game stint against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman
Stadium.
B
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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