08/27/2008 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Redding pitched six solid innings and Ryan Zimmerman hit his first home run since May 17, as the Washington Nationals held on for a 5-4 win over the reeling Los Angeles Dodgers, in the second installment of a three-game series from Nationals Park.
Redding (9-8) allowed eight hits, including three solo home runs, while issuing one walk and zero strikeouts to get the win, while Lastings Milledge, Ronnie Belliard and Jesus Flores had an RBI each for the Nationals, who won back-to-back games for the first time since taking both games of a doubleheader August 7 against Colorado.
Greg Maddux (6-11) dropped his second consecutive start since joining the Dodgers last week in a trade with the San Diego. The veteran right-hander surrendered four runs -- two earned -- on eight hits and one walk while failing to record a strikeout in 5 1/3 frames. Maddux was rocked for seven runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings of an 8-1 setback to Philadelphia last week.
Casey Blake, James Loney and Andre Ethier each hit a solo home run while Ethier also doubled twice in a 3-for-5 effort. Loney also doubled and finished 3-for-5 while Blake had a pair of RBI with as many hits.
The Dodgers have dropped a season-high six straight games and eight straight away from Chavez Ravine. They've also lost eight of their last nine overall and failed to take advantage of San Diego's three-game sweep of the NL-West leading D'Backs. The Dodgers remain three back.
The Nats came back to manufacture a run in the home half of the second and pulled ahead in the third. Milledge started the second frame with a single, stole second, moved to third and then raced home on consecutive groundouts.
Willie Harris and Cristian Guzman started the third with singles before Zimmerman grounded into a force out at second. Milledge plated a run with a fielder's choice and Belliard followed with an RBI single through the left side. Flores ended the rally with a double-play groundout.
The Nats added to their lead in the fourth as Emilio Bonifacio lined a single to center, moved to second on a sacrifice and scored when second baseman Jeff Kent misplayed a grounder from Harris and overthrew home in an attempt to get the runner.
LA made it a one-run affair in the fifth on an Ethier solo home run to right, his 17th of the season, but Zimmerman made it 5-3 with a towering solo shot to dead-center off Chan Ho Park in the seventh.
The Dodgers put runners on the corners to start the eighth when Manny Ramirez and Loney started things with back-to-back singles off Saul Rivera. Russell Martin went down swinging and Nomar Garciaparra popped weakly to second but Blake managed a broken-bat looper to left making it a 5-4 game. Rivera walked pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney to load the bases before exiting in favor of Joel Hanrahan, who retired Matt Kemp on a fly ball to left with just two pitches.
Hanrahan remained in the ninth and induced Ethier into a groundout, set down Kent on strikes and Ramirez stroked a single to center. Loney followed with a fly ball to left, ending the game and giving Hanrahan his sixth save of the season.
Loney started things in the second for LA with a leadoff homer to right, his 11th of the season. After a Martin single and a double-play ball from Garciaparra, Blake made it 2-0 with a home run over the wall in left, his 16th of the season.
Game Notes
Los Angeles swept a three-game series versus Washington at Dodger Stadium from July 25-27 and is 11-3 over its past 14 meetings with the Nationals...The Dodgers recalled third baseman Blake DeWitt from Triple-A Las Vegas Wednesday and designated utilityman Pablo Ozuna for assignment...The Dodgers fell to 0-5 on their current 10-game road trip...Friday's series finale will feature starters Clayton Kershaw (2-4) for Los Angeles and John Lannan (7-12) for Washington...Maddux's 353 career wins is still one shy of tying Roger Clemens for eighth on the career list. He has dropped three straight starts overall since winning three in a row.
<< Around FCS: PFL Must Replace Stars
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pioneer Football League has experienced
something of a renaissance era in the past few years with players like San
Diego's Josh Johnson and Eric Bakhtiari and Dayton's Kevin Hoyng passing
through the league.
<< Rangers' Hamilton scratched from lineup
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton
was a late scratch from the lineup in Wednesday's game against the Kansas City
Royals.
The left-handed slugger is out because of an abscessed tooth and was repla
<< Pena's homer provides lone run as Rays edge Blue Jays
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Pena homered and Matt Garza went
7 2/3 strong innings as Tampa Bay edged Toronto, 1-0, in the second tilt of a
three-game series at Tropicana Field.
Garza (11-7) allowed only six hits without
<< Johnson goes the distance to lead Fish past Bravos
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson's brilliant four-hitter marked the
first complete game of his career and Dan Uggla was the offensive catalyst, as
the Florida Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-1, and evened their three-
game se
Pedroia helps BoSox slam Yanks >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and
Dustin Pedroia added a grand slam as Boston routed the New York Yankees,
11-3, in the middle contest of a three-game set from Yankee Stadium.
Jacoby Ellsbu
Oswalt strong again as Astros top Reds >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Oswalt continued his mastery of the Reds
with seven strong innings to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 win over
Cincinnati at Minute Maid Park.
Oswalt (12-9) allowed one run on five hits with
Indians win 10th straight to sweep Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Shoppach and Shin-Soo Choo each hit
a two-run homer to lead Cleveland to its 10th straight victory, as the Indians
edged the Tigers, 9-7, in the finale of a three-game set.
Grady Sizemore ended wit
Rangers sweep Royals in KC >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 3-for-4 with a
pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored while Brandon Boggs homered, as the
Texas Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with
a 3-2 v
Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.
NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.
Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.
Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
--------------------------------------------------
Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6
For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting