Rookies to go head-to-head in Mets-Nationals clash
Baseball Betting Lines
09/07/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the Washington Nationals already looking ahead to next
year -- and maybe even 2012 given Stephen Strasburg's need for Tommy John
surgery -- a couple of young players are looking to show the team they can
contribute.
No one has been better at that than Danny Espinosa.
The former 2008 third-round pick will aim to show his stuff again tonight,
when the Nationals shoot for a season-high fourth straight win in the middle
contest of a three-game set with the New York Mets at Nationals Park.
Expected to be Washington's everyday second baseman as early as next season,
the 23-year-old made the start at shortstop in Monday's opener and went 4-
for-5 with a pair of homers, including a sixth-inning grand slam, and six RBI
in a 13-3 rout of New York.
Through five games since his September call-up, Espinosa is 9-for-16 with
three homers and 10 RBI.
"These are big weeks for me," Espinosa said. "I just want to play well, play
hard and I feel if I stay within myself and play my game, things will go my
way."
Ivan Rodriguez added three RBI and Roger Bernadina scored three times for the
Nationals, who have won a season high-tying three straight for the second time
in less than two weeks.
The Nationals, though, did lose outfielder Willie Harris in the third inning
after he crashed hard into the wall trying to make a catch. He came out of the
game due to dizziness and is day-to-day.
Josh Thole drove in two runs for the Mets, who have lost six of eight on a 10-
game road trip. Mike Pelfrey was tagged for six runs on five hits with three
walks over 3 2/3 innings to take the loss.
"We had a 3-0 lead and he was kind of cruising and then kind of lost it," Mets
manager Jerry Manuel said of his starter. "Mike Pelfrey is still a young
pitcher. He's going to be a tremendous pitcher at some point in his career. I
think he'll soon be a guy that will be counted on as someone that you know
what you're going to get from him every time out."
Given that both teams are out of the playoff race, it isn't surprising that a
pair of starters will be making their major league debuts in this game.
For the Mets, Dillon Gee steps in for an injured Johan Santana, who left his
last start on Thursday after five innings due to a pectoral muscle strain.
"It's recommended that he skip this start," Manuel said of Santana on New
York's website. "He wants to pitch, he feels like he can pitch through it, but
I don't feel it's worth it to push him at this particular time. It's not in
the best interest of the organization to push him at this particular point."
Gee, a 24-year-old righty, was 13-8 with a 4.96 earned run average with
Triple-A Buffalo and led the International League with 165 strikeouts.
His counterpart tonight is 29-year-old Cuban Yuneski Maya, who signed a four-
year deal with the Nationals on July 31 and gave up two runs -- one earned --
over 10 1/3 innings and two starts with Triple-A Syracuse.
The right-hander pitched in the World Baseball Classic in both 2006 and '09
and won Cuba's version of the Cy Young Award during his final season with
Pinar Del Rio Vegueros after going 13-4 with a 2.22 ERA and seven complete
games.
"I felt good in the minors," Maya told Washington's website. "My arm is at 100
percent, and I feel really good. It's a hard league in Triple-A, with a lot of
veteran hitters that are pretty selective. I faced pretty tough hitters, but I
felt pretty good."
The Nationals have won eight of 13 versus the Mets this year, including four
of seven in Washington.
<< Lohse hoping to pitch Cardinals past Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though the St. Louis Cardinals appear to be loaded at the
top of their pitching rotation, the back end could use some work.
Kyle Lohse gets a chance to claim his rotation spot this evening, when St.
Louis tries to gain mor
<< Week One Highlights
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Could the 2010 college football season
gotten off to a better start? It began with some of the nation's top teams
flexing their muscles. There were shootouts, defensive struggles and thrilling
overtime affair
<< Rockies hope to stay hot versus Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have put together a couple of strong
Septembers over the past few years. They've been even more successful in
recent meetings with the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.
Colorado shoots for an eighth cons
<< Padres try to string back-to-back wins together against LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After finally being able to end a potentially-costly 10-
game skid on Monday, the San Diego Padres will try to start up a winning
streak behind their best pitcher when the National League West leaders resume
a three-game seri
<< Braves seek to bounce back in second test with Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta's offense has been mostly shut down during its
current stretch of four losses in five games. That is exactly what starter Tim
Hudson has done to Pittsburgh over the last few years, though.
Hudson looks to extend a
Twins continue set with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Capturing a second straight American League Central title
may be the Minnesota Twins' main objective, but judging by the team's
performance at Target Field this season, having home-field advantage for the
opening round of the
2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 7th >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Halftime - Lithuania 43, China 40
Argentina vs. Brazil, 2 p.m.
The Real Deal on the AL Cy Young Race >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With 28 days left in the regular season, the
American League Cy Young award is still up for grabs. It seems the New York
Yankees' CC Sabathia is considered the leading candidate, although I think
there's another
Illini lineman suspended after DUI arrest >>
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -Illinois has indefinitely suspended defensive lineman Michael Buchanan after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving over the weekend.Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz said Tuesday that Illinois State Police
Report: Patriots, Brady close to contract extension >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots and quarterback Tom
Brady are reportedly on the verge of a three-year contract extension worth
close to $58 million.
The Boston Herald reports the deal is on the table for Brady,
NFL Football Sports Betting
Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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