Giants' Torres caps big game with winning hit in 10th

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andres Torres capped his four-hit day with a deep bases-loaded single in the 10th inning, lifting the Giants to a 10-9 win over the Florida Marlins at AT&T Park.

Torres added a two-run homer and Juan Uribe had three hits and drove in four runs for San Francisco, which is putting pressure on NL West-leading San Diego by winning six of its last seven games. Buster Posey extended his hitting streak to 21 games for the Giants, who won despite blowing a 9-2 lead after six innings.

Dan Uggla homered for the sixth time in as many games and tied the contest with an RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning. He has 143 homers for his career, tying the Marlins team record set by Mike Lowell. Pinch-hitter Donnie Murphy added a three-run homer and Ronny Paulino clubbed a solo shot for the Marlins.

Hanley Ramirez singled and Logan Morrison doubled with one out in the ninth inning. A groundout by Gaby Sanchez scored Ramirez with two outs. Uggla, facing a 3-2 count against closer Brian Wilson, slugged a ground-rule double to the gap in left-center field. Pinch-hitter Wes Helms struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Giants had a rally thwarted in the bottom of the ninth after putting two men on base, but capitalized in the 10th against Clay Hensley (1-4). Aaron Rowand singled to left field and Edgar Renteria followed by hitting a ball that bounced off the chest of third baseman Murphy. Nate Schierholtz singled sharply to right field and Torres followed by taking the first pitch deep to left-center field to end the game.

Jonathan Sanchez was charged with seven hits and five runs over six-plus innings, but fanned seven batters in the start for the Giants. Chris Ray (2-0) picked up the victory by retiring the side in order in the top of the 10th.

Florida's Alex Sanabia was shelled for nine hits and seven runs over two-plus innings.

The Giants totaled six hits in the first inning, including RBI singles from Aubrey Huff and Rowand, and a two-run base hit from Uribe.

Morrison doubled in Ramirez in the third, but the Giants got a two-run triple from Uribe in the bottom of the frame, and he then scored on a Jorge Sosa wild pitch.

Paulino homered in the fourth, but Torres went deep in the sixth to provide the 9-2 margin.

Murphy homered off Sanchez in the seventh, and Uggla went deep against Denny Bautista later in the inning to get the visitors within 9-7.

Game Notes

The Giants have won 18 games so far this month and with two more victories, they'll have their first 20-win month since September 2000...Posey's streak is the second-longest by a rookie in San Francisco-era history behind Hall of Famer Willie McCovey's 22-gamer in 1959. Benito Santiago holds the major league rookie record for hitting safely in 34 straight games in 1987. The longest consecutive game hitting streak in San Francisco era history (since 1958) is held by Jack Clark, who hit safely in 26 games in 1978...San Francisco swept a three-game set from the Marlins earlier in the year and has won seven of the last nine meetings in the series.

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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.