Braves avoid sweep in Pittsburgh

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Prado, Derrek Lee, and Alex Gonzalez each drove in two runs to back Derek Lowe's solid performance on the mound, as the Atlanta Braves handled the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-3, to avoid a three-game sweep at PNC Park.

Omar Infante and Matt Diaz had an RBI apiece for the Braves, who snapped a three-game skid. Atlanta remained a half-game behind Philadelphia in the NL East standings after the Phillies beat the Marlins. The Braves still lead the wild card race by 1 1/2 games over San Francisco, which is in action against Arizona.

Lowe (12-12) gave up one run on eight hits over six innings to improve to 10-0 over 10 career starts versus Pittsburgh. The 37-year-old righty was pitching for the first time since August 29 due to lingering soreness in his pitching elbow.

Pedro Ciriaco, Brandon Moss, and Jose Tabata each drove in a run for the Pirates, who were trying to sweep the Braves for the first time since April 29-May 1, 1994. Pedro Alvarez had three hits in defeat.

Zach Duke (7-13) lasted just one-plus frame, giving up four runs on six hits. Daniel McCutchen came on in relief and was charged with four runs -- three earned -- on five hits over 1 1/3 innings.

The Braves dominated the game from the start. With one out in the first inning, Jason Heyward, Prado, and Lee hit consecutive singles to plate the game's first run. Diaz walked two batters later to load the bases. Gonzalez followed with a two-run single to center to make it 3-0.

Pittsburgh loaded the bases with two outs in the home first, but Ryan Doumit struck out.

Atlanta scored another run in the second. Lowe doubled, Infante singled, and Heyward walked to load the bases with nobody out. Duke was removed from the contest in favor of McCutchen. Prado popped out before Lee walked to force in a run. The next two batters were retired to keep it a 4-0 game.

The visitors put a four-spot on the board in the third to open things up. Gonzalez and Melky Cabrera started the frame with back-to-back singles. Lowe put down a bunt that went right back to McCutchen, whose throw to third was way off the mark. Gonzalez scored on the play. Infante's infield single plated another run. After Heyward grounded out, Prado hit a two-run single to give the Braves an 8-0 lead.

Diaz's sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth made it a nine-run game. The Pirates, though, got the run back in the bottom half of the inning. With one out, pinch-hitter Lastings Milledge, Andrew McCutchen, and Tabata hit consecutive singles to plate a run.

The Pirates scored two runs off Christian Martinez in the ninth. Alvarez led off with a double and scored on pinch-hitter Ciriaco's double. Jason Jaramillo walked and Alex Presley singled to load the bases. Moss' infield single scored a run. Billy Wagner came in from the bullpen to record the final out of the game.

Game Notes

The Braves won the season series with the Pirates, 6-3...Pittsburgh finished a six-game homestand with a 3-3 mark...Atlanta ended a six-game road trip with a 2-4 record...Pirates rookie Neil Walker extended his hitting streak to 15 games...Pittsburgh had homered in a season-high seven straight games...Ciriaco and Presley each recorded their first hit in the big leagues.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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