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08/29/2010 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddy Sanchez had three hits, knocked in two runs and scored a run to push San Francisco past Arizona, 9-7, in a back and forth affair in the last of a three-game set.
Andres Torres added two hits, two runs scored and drove in two while Jose Guillen's two-run single in the seventh put the Giants ahead to stay as they salvaged the last game of the series to halt a three-game slide.
Jeremy Affeldt (3-3) grabbed the win despite allowing a two-run double that gave Arizona the lead in the top of the seventh, and Brian Wilson recorded the last five outs to earn his 36th save for San Francisco, which moved to within five games of San Diego in the NL West and remained 1 1/2 games behind Wild Card leader Philadelphia.
Esmerling Vasquez (1-5) suffered the loss after yielding three runs -- two earned -- on three hits in his lone inning of work for the Diamondbacks, who had a three-game win streak snapped.
Gerardo Parra singled to start the Arizona seventh, and, after pinch-hitter Rusty Ryal struck out, Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain was lifted with a 5-2 lead in favor of Javier Lopez, who gave up a single to Stephen Drew and was replaced by Santiago Casilla.
The move did not work, as Justin Upton belted a double into centerfield to plate both runners and trim the deficit to a run. Upton moved to third on a wild pitch and stayed put after Kelly Johnson walked and Chris Young struck out.
Bruce Bochy turned to Jeremy Affeldt to face LaRoche, and again the percentage play did not pan out, as the left-swinger laced a double to right to chase home both runners to put the visitors in the lead at 6-5.
Vasquez assumed the hill for Arizona in the bottom of the frame and allowed a leadoff single to Sanchez that was followed by a Huff ground rule double that Parra lost in the sun. Guillen then singled into center to chase home both runners to put the Giants back on top at 7-6.
Nate Schierholtz came on as a pinch-runner and advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt, to third on a Pablo Sandoval ground out and scored on a Cody Ross sacrifice fly to push the lead to two.
Parra legged out an infield single to start the eighth and advanced on a Ryan Roberts sacrifice bunt. Drew beat out an infield hit as Parra turned third and headed for the plate. He slid around the attempted tag of catcher Eli Whiteside and beat him back to the plate with a dive to slice the Giants' lead to 8-7.
Wilson then took over on the mound and gave up an infield hit to Upton before Johnson struck out and Young flied out to center to end the threat.
San Francisco added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth against Juan Gutierrez when Torres walked with two outs and scored on Sandoval's double to right.
Arizona, which struck for six runs in the first inning on Saturday, loaded the bases with one out in the first but Cain bulldogged his way out of the jam by striking out LaRoche and Mark Reynolds.
The visitors did break through two innings later on Drew's leadoff long ball to right.
San Francisco stormed back to grab their first lead of the series in the home half on a run-scoring double by Torres, an RBI single by Sanchez, a Huff fielder's choice grounder that plated Torres and a run-scoring double by Sandoval high off the brick wall in rightfield that brought Huff home to complete the four-run surge.
Eli Whiteside singled with one out in the fourth, moved to second on a Cain single and scored on a Torres base hit to make it a 5-1 contest.
Pinch-hitter Ryan Church struck out to begin the fifth but reached first base on a Cain wild pitch. The right-hander then uncorked two more wild offerings that advanced Church to third, from where he scored on a Drew ground out to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Game Notes
Cain allowed three runs on six hits with a walk and seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings...The right-hander had his run of 19 shutout innings against the D'Backs this season snapped in the third inning...Cain is 6-1 in his last 10 home turns and 7-3 in 14 home starts this season...Ross went 0-for-3 and lost an eight-game hitting streak, while Sanchez has hit safely in six straight and is 15-for-24...Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand turned 33 Sunday...Arizona starter Rodrigo Lopez lasted just four frames, giving up five runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out three...LaRoche's two RBI gave him 87, which tied the franchise single-season record for a first baseman, set by Tony Clark in 2005...Arizona is 14-13 with two games left in August, as it tries to secure its first winning month since August of last season.
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BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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