Indians hold off Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

04/21/2009 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grady Sizemore hit a three-run home run to help the Cleveland Indians take an 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game set at Jacobs Field.

Victor Martinez was 4-for-5 with a two-run home run while Mark DeRosa walked twice and scored three times for the Indians, who have won four of their last six games.

Aaron Laffey (1-0) got the win as he gave up just one run on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts over seven innings.

David DeJesus hit a two-run home run and drove in three while Mark Teahen went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI for the Royals, who have dropped their last two games.

Sidney Ponson (0-2) was saddled with the loss for giving up six runs on eight hits in just 3 1/3 innings of work.

Cleveland grabbed control of the game with four runs in the fourth. Back-to- back one-out singles from Ben Francisco and Asdrubal Cabrera was followed by a shot into the right field stands from Sizemore. Later in the frame, a wild pitch from Robinson Tejeda scored DeRosa for a 6-1 lead.

Kansas City had baserunners in every inning, but hit into double plays in each frame from the third through the seventh.

In the eighth, though, the Royals rallied off the Cleveland bullpen to make it a one-run game. Run-scoring singles from DeJesus, off Joe Smith and Teahen and Mike Jacobs both off Masa Kobayashi started things before Alberto Callaspo made it a 6-5 game with a sacrifice fly off Jensen Lewis.

However, Juan Cruz served up a two-run homer to Martinez in the bottom half that would prove costly as Kerry Wood gave up a two-out, two-run home run to DeJesus to make it a one-run game in the ninth. Wood recovered and struck out Billy Butler to pick up his second save of the season.

The Royals got a run in the first to take the early lead. Coco Crisp led off with a double and then stole third. After the next two batters recorded outs, Butler kept the inning alive with a walk and Teahen followed with a single to left that scored Crisp.

Cleveland, though, answered in the bottom of the first as the team loaded the bases and plated a runner when a passed ball by Miguel Olivo allowed Sizemore to cross the plate.

The Indians took a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases to start the frame and Jhonny Peralta's fielder's choice scored DeRosa. Shin-Soo Choo, though, lined into a double play to end the inning.

Game Notes

Cleveland has won its past two games against KC after dropping the previous five...Ponson is 0-8 with an 8.96 earned run average against Cleveland in his career...The six double plays recorded by Cleveland tied a franchise mark, which the team has done four times...The six double plays Kansas City hit into set a new club record...Laffey is 3-2 in six starts against KC in his career.

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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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.