09/07/2008 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Lopez had a pair of solo homers while Adrian Beltre went 2-for-3 with a two-run blast to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, as the Seattle Mariners took the rubber match of a weekend set, 5-2, from the New York Yankees.
Raul Ibanez drove in the other run for Seattle, which, despite the win, still only has two wins in its last five tries. Ryan Feierabend (1-2) got the win as he lasted seven innings and gave up just two runs on five hits while fanning four and walking three. J.J. Putz tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his 12th save of the year.
Derek Jeter went 2-for-3 to move into a tie with Babe Ruth for second place on the Yankees' all-time hit list with 2,518. His home run in the first inning marked the shortstop's 205th career blast, which ties him with Dave Winfield for 10th on the club's all-time list. Xavier Nady also added a solo homer in defeat.
Mike Mussina (17-8) was dealt the loss after surrendering four runs on seven hits in six frames. The righty also fanned seven and walked just one batter.
Lopez led off the fourth stanza with a blast to left field, which put the M's ahead 3-2.
With one gone in the fifth, Ichiro Suzuki attempted to bunt his way on base. The slow roller trickled back to Mussina, who fielded the ball but the throw escaped Jason Giambi's glove at first and allowed the runner to reach second. Jeremy Reed then grounded out, which allowed Suzuki to move to third, and Beltre walked before Ibanez laced an RBI single to center, making it 4-2.
Jose Veras took over on the hill for NY in the eighth and retired the first two batters. Lopez, however, recorded his first multi-homer game as he jumped on the first pitch he saw and took it over the fence in left field for a 5-2 Seattle lead.
Putz came in for Seattle in the ninth and plunked leadoff man Giambi. Nady then grounded into a force, leaving just a runner on first, before Hideki Matsui smacked a base hit back up the middle. The tying run, Robinson Cano, went down swinging for the second out, and pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit followed suit to make it official.
The loss dropped the Yankees to fourth place in the AL East behind the Blue Jays, who took a half-game lead with a victory over the Rays. NY is also now 8 1/2 games behind the Red Sox for the lead in the Wild Card race.
The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Jeter stroked a line drive homer to left. The blast served as Captain's 1,000th RBI as a Yankee.
Nady clubbed a solo shot to left in the second frame to give NY a 2-0 advantage.
Yuniesky Betancourt led off the third inning with a single and, two batters later, Beltre launched his 25th homer of the year over the fence in right to knot the contest at two.
Game Notes
The Yankees left seven runners on base to the Mariners' four stranded men...New York had won seven of its nine matchups with the Mariners this season...Time of game was 2:32.
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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