08/18/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Pearce and Jack Wilson got to the Mets' bullpen in the eighth, combining to knock in three runs in the inning to lift the Pirates to a 5-2 win over New York in the finale of a four-game set in Pittsburgh.
Wilson finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI while Adam LaRoche contributed his 16th homer of the season, a two-run shot to help the Pirates avoid a sweep and snap a four-game skid.
Pittsburgh's Paul Maholm went seven strong innings, giving up two runs on five hits. The Pirates' best starter this season, Maholm struck out four and walked three in his third consecutive quality start. Sean Burnett (1-1) earned the win after getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth.
John Grabow earned his fourth save of the season, working around two walks to pitch a scoreless ninth.
John Maine didn't factor into the decision despite a good outing. The Mets' righty threw five shutout innings on only two hits, striking out three and walking four. The bullpen didn't fare as well, giving up all five runs on seven hits in four innings.
Pedro Feliciano (2-3) took the loss after giving up a run in only one-third of an inning.
Nick Evans went 2-for-3 with two doubles for New York, while Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado knocked in a run each in the loss.
The loss snapped the Mets' six-game winning streak and shrunk the team's lead in the NL East to 1 1/2 games over the idle Philadelphia Phillies. It was New York's first loss since the bullpen blew a 5-1 lead to Pittsburgh last Monday at Shea Stadium.
Feliciano started the eighth inning in a tie game by allowing a one-out single to Adam LaRoche. Duaner Sanchez came on in relief and yielded a single to Jason Michaels, moving LaRoche to third. Michaels took second on the throw to third and Andy LaRoche was intentionally walked to get to Pearce, who singled home a run to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
Wilson then gave the Pirates some breathing room, lining a bases-loaded double down the left field line to score two and make it a 5-2 game.
Grabow flirted with trouble in the ninth, issuing a one-out walk and a two-out free pass. However, he got Argenis Reyes to ground to short for the final out.
The Mets got the lead in the first. Reyes led off with a single and Evans doubled him over to third. Two batters later Beltran lifted a sacrifice fly to center for an early 1-0 lead.
New York added a run in the fourth. David Wright singled and Beltran doubled down the left field line to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Delgado followed with an RBI groundout to increase the lead to 2-0.
Pittsburgh threatened in the fifth, loading the bases with only one out, but Freddy Sanchez killed the rally by grounding into an inning-ending double play.
The Pirates tied it in the sixth off Brian Stokes. Ryan Doumit singled and Adam LaRoche crushed a pitch deep into the right field seats to make it a 2-2 game.
Pittsburgh was able to escape a jam in the eighth. After the first two batters were retired, Daniel Murphy stroked a pinch-hit single. Tyler Yates walked Wright and Beltran to load the bases, ending his stint on the mound. Burnett came in to face Delgado, who popped out to third to end the inning.
Game Notes
New York won the season series 4-3...Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was given the day off...Wright extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the fourth inning...Mets manager Jerry Manuel was ejected in the third inning arguing a call at first base...To make room on the roster for Luis Ayala, who was acquired Sunday from the Washington Nationals for a player to be named later, the Mets optioned pitcher Eddie Kunz to Triple-A New Orleans...The Pirates set a record for attendance during a four-game series, attracting 129,473 fans during the series. The old record was 129,066, set in 2001 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
<< Former champion Genuine Risk dead
Upperville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Kentucky Derby winning filly Genuine
Risk passed away at Newstead Farm in Virginia on Monday. The mare was 31 years
old.
"Genuine Risk was an amazing horse with tremendous heart that lived a life
<< Tyson will not return to Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maryland Eastern Shore head coach
Frankie Allen announced that senior guard Ed Tyson will not return to the team
next season.
Tyson, a second-team All-Mid Eastern Athletic Conference pick who
<< Arena takes charge of Galaxy
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy announced on Monday that
former U.S. national team head coach Bruce Arena has been named general
manager and head coach of the Galaxy.
Arena, who becomes the seventh coach in club
<< Dolphins release OL McKinney
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have released offensive
lineman Steve McKinney.
McKinney, a 10-year NFL veteran, was signed in May.
"When we brought Steve in we really took a look and, at this point, he wasn't
wher
Wigginton and Santana named NL co-players of the week >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros third baseman Ty Wigginton and
New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana were named National League Co-Players of
the Week for the period ending August 17.
Wigginton led the National League with
Isner reaches second round in New Haven >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Towering American John Isner was among the
Day-2 first-round winners at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final U.S.
Open tune-up.
The 6-foot-9 Isner got past Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-4 on the hard
O's Mora, ChiSox Vazquez share AL weekly honor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora
and Chicago White Sox pitcher Javier Vazquez were both named the American
League Player of the Week for the period ending August 17.
Mora hit a sizzling .5
Edwards flipping out at the right time >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Look out Kyle Busch. Here comes Carl
Edwards, who turned his championship quest up a notch with a victory in
Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. Edwards
held off Busch, the cur
Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
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.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.
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