Astros escape Pittsburgh with a win after holding off Pirates

Baseball Betting Lines

07/09/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geoff Blum hit a three-run home run, and the Houston Astros recovered from giving up a four-run lead to notch a 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and avoid a three-game sweep at PNC Park.

Kaz Matsui, in his first game back after being placed on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, doubled twice and knocked in a run for the Astros, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Ty Wigginton and Michael Bourn each went 2-for-5 and scored a run.

Brian Moehler (5-4) allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings to pick up the win, while Jose Valverde notched his 23rd save.

Nate McLouth doubled three times and scored twice for the Pirates, who had won two straight. Adam LaRoche, Jason Bay, Ryan Doumit and Freddy Sanchez each knocked in a run.

Sean Burnett (0-1) allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings to take the loss in relief of John Van Benschoten, who was tagged for four runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 frames, walking six and striking out six.

The Astros opened up a 4-0 lead in the first, but the Pirates rallied to tie the game heading into the seventh.

Bourn led off with a single against Burnett, and after Brad Ausmus bunted him to second, Tyler Yates got the call from the bullpen. Pinch-hitter Mark Loretta then reached on a fielder's choice when Bourn beat out Doumit's throw to third, and Hunter Pence grounded out to plate Bourn with the go-ahead run. Matsui followed with an RBI double to right-center that gave Houston a two-run gap.

Chris Sampson worked a pair of scoreless innings before Valverde shut the door in the ninth.

After retiring the first two batters of the game, Van Benschoten put himself in trouble by plunking Lance Berkman and walking Carlos Lee before Blum golfed a low fastball into the seats in right for his sixth homer of the year. Wigginton and Bourn followed with singles to put runners at the corners, and Ausmus dumped a single in front of McLouth in center for a 4-0 lead.

Xavier Nady smashed a triple to right-center to lead off the second, then scored on LaRoche's groundout.

The Pirates continued to chip away in the third, as McLouth doubled, then scored on Doumit's single before Bay drove in Doumit with a double to left.

The Astros had runners at second and third with nobody out in the fifth after doubles by Jack Wilson and McLouth, and while Wilson was retired trying to score on a wild pitch, McLouth came in with the tying run on Sanchez's sacrifice fly.

Game Notes

The Astros won despite leaving 14 men on base and going 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position...To make room for Matsui, the Astros optioned pitcher Chad Reineke to Triple-A Round Rock...The Astros are off on Thursday and open a three-game set in Washington on Friday...Pittsburgh hosts the Yankees in a rescheduled game on Thursday before starting a weekend series with the Cardinals.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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