08/07/2008 - St. Louis, MO (Baseball Betting) - Manny Ramirez belted a two-run home run, and Clayton Kershaw threw seven brilliant innings as Los Angeles downed St, Louis, 4-1, to avoid a sweep in the finale of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.
Kershaw (2-3) allowed just one run on three hits while walking four and fanning seven for the Dodgers, who have won three of their last five games and reached .500 (57-57) on the season.
Jeff Kent finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored for Los Angeles.
Cesar Izturis was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Cardinals, who fell six games behind the idle Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
Kyle Lohse (13-4) allowed four runs on seven hits in seven innings en route to the loss.
The Dodgers jumped on top with a run in the first. Kent slapped a two-out, ground-rule double to right and, after Ramirez walked, James Loney came through with a run-scoring single to left.
Los Angles added a pair of runs in the third when Kent got on with a one-out single and Ramirez followed by depositing his fourth home run as a Dodger over the wall in left.
Juan Pierre made it a 4-0 game in the fourth when his two-out triple drove in Danny Ardoin.
The Cards finally broke through off Kershaw in the fifth when Aaron Miles got on with a two-out infield single, swiped second on a wild pitch and scored on Izturis' single to right.
Things settled down from there until St. Louis threatened off Jonathan Broxton in the ninth. Ryan Ludwick led off the frame with a single to right and quickly advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Troy Glaus chased Ludwick to third by chopping out to the right side, Felipe Lopez drew a walk to put runners on the corners and bring the tying run to the plate.
Broxton continued to struggle, allowing Lopez to steal second and going 3-2 to pinch hitter Rick Ankiel before punching the former pitcher out on what would have been ball four. Skip Schumaker, another pinch hitter, followed by striking out to end the game as Broxton earned his sixth save of the season.
Game Notes
Ramirez has a total of 24 homers on the season...Kershaw made his big league debut against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on May 25 and was impressive. The 20-year-old allowed two runs in a six-inning no-decision...St. Louis is 4-2 against the Dodgers this season...Los Angeles is just 3-11 in regular- season play at Busch Stadium since the start of the 2005 campaign.
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The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smith and Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running back Deuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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