Iwamura and Duke help Pirates down D'Backs

Baseball Betting Lines

04/10/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Akinori Iwamura went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and Zach Duke threw seven solid innings, as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-3, in the middle contest of a three-game series.

Duke (2-0) gave up two runs on four hits and two walks, and struck out two for the Pirates, who snapped a two-game slide. The left-hander improved upon his first start of the season, when he gave up two runs in five innings against the Dodgers on Monday.

Jeff Clement also homered for Pittsburgh, while Andy LaRoche was 2-for-4 and scored once.

Arizona's Dan Haren (1-1) had limited the Padres to a run in seven innings in his first start of the season, but was hit for six runs (five earned) in 6 2/3 innings Saturday. Haren allowed nine hits and walked two, but also struck out nine.

Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer and finished 2-for-4 for the Diamondbacks, who had won their last two.

Staring at a four-run deficit, the Diamondbacks threatened in the bottom of the eighth. Facing Jack Taschner, Kelly Johnson doubled and pinch-hitter Rusty Ryal walked before the Pirates brought in Brendan Donnelly to pitch.

Donnelly walked Conor Jackson to fill the bases, and Tony Abreu flied out to center to bring in Johnson. The other two runners advanced into scoring position after Andrew McCutchen threw the ball into open space in the infield.

However, Donnelly struck out Justin Upton before Javier Lopez struck out Adam LaRoche to end the threat. Octavio Dotel then worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season.

The Pirates got to Haren in the first inning, which Iwamura led off with a single. He went to second on a McCutchen groundout before scoring on Lastings Milledge's single to center.

Clement began the second with a homer to right, and the Pirates tacked on three more in the fourth.

With a runner on second and two down, Ronny Cedeno doubled to left to plate the run. Iwamura followed with a two-run blast to right, making it a 5-0 game.

Duke kept Arizona off the scoreboard in efficient fashion, facing the minimum through three innings. He also didn't allow a runner past first base through the first six innings.

Pittsburgh made it 6-0 in the top of the seventh, when McCutchen scored from third on Johnson's fielding error. Haren didn't make it out of the inning, as Jordan Norberto came in to get the final out.

In the bottom half, Adam LaRoche doubled before Reynolds belted a homer to left with one out. Duke, though, retired the next two batters to complete his outing.

Game Notes

Arizona catcher Miguel Montero left the game after suffering an apparent knee injury running to first in the bottom of the second...Cedeno, McCutchen and Garrett Jones each had a stolen base for Pittsburgh.

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Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

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Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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