Braun's slam helps Brewers blast Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

06/15/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun belted a grand slam and drove in five runs, as Milwaukee blasted the Angels, 12-2, to start a three-game interleague series.

Randy Wolf (5-6) gave up three hits and two runs over seven innings and snapped a two-start losing streak, putting an end to the Brewers' two-game skid. He retired the final 13 batters he faced.

"I attacked the glove tonight," Wolf said. "No matter what the score is, you don't want to change anything. I had good command and my curveball was good tonight. When you get a big lead it allows me to be more aggressive."

Corey Hart went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and scored twice for the Brewers, while Casey McGehee homered.

While the Milwaukee bats were blistering, the fans at Angel Stadium were rattled a bit due to an earthquake in the seventh inning that registered at 5.7 and was centered near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Joe Saunders (5-7) allowed six hits and six runs over 5 2/3 innings and had a two-start winning streak broken. He gave up a total of two runs over his previous two outings, a span of 15 innings, but both of those starts were on the road. Saunders is now 1-6 at home this season.

"He got through the first couple of innings okay, then his command caught up with him and he had trouble putting hitters away," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We just played a poor ball game. They blew it open and we couldn't get our bats going."

Kevin Frandsen had a two-run double in the second inning for Los Angeles, which had won its last three. The Angels, who were coming off an 11-3 road trip, lost for just the third time in their last 13 games.

It was a rough night for the Angels. Center fielder Torii Hunter had a ball glance off his glove and over the fence, accounting for McGehee's homer in the sixth inning. McGehee also slid hard into second base in the seventh inning, causing shortstop Erick Aybar to leave the game with a hyperextended left knee.

With one out in the sixth, Hunter ranged back to the wall in center field and nearly made the grab. A Gold Glove winner the last nine years, Hunter then had the ball pop out and over the fence, giving the Brewers a 6-2 lead.

It only got worse in the seventh inning for the Angels. Hart doubled in two runs and Braun had an RBI single. Trevor Bell hit McGehee with a pitch in the stomach area. Carlos Gomez then hit a ground ball to first baseman Frandsen, who threw to second base. The throw was in time to get McGehee, but while sliding into second he connected with Aybar's leg, bending it backward.

Aybar was then helped off the field and was replaced at shortstop by Maicer Izturis, who came over from third. Aybar was diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee and is day-to-day.

Braun scored on a wild pitch from Bell and a Robb Quinlan fielding error at first made it an 11-2 contest.

A groundout from Alcides Escobar scored Joe Inglett in the ninth inning.

Frandsen doubled with the bases full in the second inning, but the Brewers quickly erased the deficit in the third. George Kottaras doubled off the wall in the right field corner to drive in Escobar. After Milwaukee loaded the bases later in the frame, Braun connected to center field for his 10th homer of the season.

Game Notes

It was the first-ever grand slam allowed by Saunders and the third of Braun's career...Bobby Abreu threw out Craig Counsell at the plate in the sixth inning when Counsell tried to score on a base hit from Escobar...Milwaukee took two of three games from the Angels during its last visit to Anaheim, which took place during the 2004 season.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.