Mets seek rare road series win at Minute Maid Park

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08/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have an opportunity to record their first road series win in two months in tonight's finale of a four-game set with the Houston Astros from Minute Maid Park.

The road has not been kind to the Mets this season -- and especially of late -- but the team has been able to win two of its first three matchups with the Astros. New York prevailed in an extra-inning thriller last night, with Ike Davis' sacrifice fly in the top of the 14th frame knocking in the deciding run in a 3-2 decision.

Jose Reyes drew a leadoff walk off Astros reliever Gustavo Chacin (1-2) to start the 14th and advanced to second on a sacrifice before stealing third to move 90 feet away from scoring. Following two more walks that loaded the bases, Davis lifted a fly ball to right that easily plated Reyes for a 3-2 advantage.

Manny Acosta then came on to retire the side in order in the bottom of the 14th to earn a save and allow Elmer Dessens (3-1) to pick up the win after working a scoreless inning of his own.

The Mets had been in position to win the contest in regulation, but Houston's Geoff Blum belted a solo homer off R.A. Dickey with one out in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score at 2-2. The long ball was Blum's first since September 16 of last season.

"He had his knuckleball working and I think he was throwing it where he wanted to," Blum said of Dickey. "It was driving me crazy. He got me [earlier], but he hung one."

Dickey, who fired a one-hit shutout against Philadelphia in his previous start, still turned in an outstanding showing despite that disappointing ending. The knuckleball specialist yielded just two runs and scattered nine hits while striking out six in 8 1/3 frames.

"He was really good tonight," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said of Dickey afterward. "He's given us a chance most of the time he's taken the ball for us and he's taken it very deep into the ball game. What that allows us to do is use quality relievers, even late."

Houston starter Brett Myers also pitched well, holding the Mets to two runs over his seven innings of work.

New York upped its still-subpar season road record to 24-38 with Wednesday's verdict and has won just six of 20 tests away from home since the All-Star break. The Mets last took a series on the road between June 15-17, when Manuel's squad swept the Cleveland Indians in three games.

The Mets could be in for a challenge in trying to accomplish their goal of winning this set, if Houston's Bud Norris is able to duplicate his most recent effort. The young right-hander takes the mound tonight off a career-high 14- strikeout performance in a home victory over Pittsburgh last Saturday, with Norris allowing just two runs and five hits in seven innings that night.

The 25-year-old is 3-0 with a solid 3.51 earned run average over his past four starts and has lasted at least six innings in each of those assignments. Norris hasn't fared that well at Minute Maid Park over the course of the season, however, as he's just 2-4 with a 5.56 ERA in 10 appearances at his home venue.

This will be Norris's first-ever encounter with the Mets, who'll send out Pat Misch in the finale for his second major league start of the season.

Misch acquitted himself well in Saturday's matchup with two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia, despite coming out on the wrong end of a 4-0 verdict. The well-traveled lefty did give up all four runs in a six- inning stint, but just one was earned due to a pair of costly errors by his teammates.

The Western Michigan product, who turned 28 on Wednesday, had compiled an 11-4 record and a 3.23 ERA in 23 starts for Buffalo prior to being called up last weekend. However, he's just 3-12 over 61 lifetime appearances in the big leagues, 19 of which have come in a starting role.

One of those victories did come against the Astros last October, though, with Misch surrendering just one run over five innings in that clash.

He'll be attempting to lead the Mets to an eighth win in their last nine games against Houston. New York took five of the six meetings between the teams last season.

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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