Willis pitches Diamondbacks to second straight win

Baseball Betting Lines

06/06/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dontrelle Willis pitched six shutout innings in his return to the National League, helping the Diamondbacks to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Willis (1-0), who was traded from Detroit on Tuesday, allowed five hits, walked four and had three strikeouts. The lefty even singled in the third inning and scored the game's first run on a head-first dive into home following a base hit from Stephen Drew.

"It was good, we battled and I made some pitches when I had to, and we came out with the victory," Willis said. "So it's one series win, it's a good stepping stone, we just have to keep building off of our momentum and go from there."

Ryan Roberts, who had the game-winning pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth inning of Friday's 7-6 win, added a two-run pinch-hit double Saturday night.

The Diamondbacks have posted back-to-back wins following a 10-game slide.

Willis burst onto the major league scene with a dazzling display with the Florida Marlins in 2003, winning 14 games and earning the NL's Rookie of the Year Award while helping the Fish capture a World Series title. He led the Senior Circuit with 22 victories two years later, and compiled a 68-54 record in five seasons with the Marlins before being shipped to Detroit as part of a blockbuster eight-player trade prior to the 2008 campaign. On Tuesday, he was traded to Arizona in a deal that sent right-hander Billy Buckner to the Tigers.

Jhoulys Chacin (3-4) was charged with six hits and four runs -- three earned -- over 5 2/3 innings for Colorado, which lost its third in a row.

Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Spilborghs each had two hits and a run scored for the Rockies, who went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.

"We did a tremendous job tonight to get back into the game, and put ourselves in a position to win," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "The unfortunate thing is the game boils down to this - offensively 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. That's simply what it boils down to, we (went) 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. There is very little else to say."

Both teams wasted opportunities with men in scoring position in the opening two innings before Arizona went ahead 1-0 in the third. Willis singled to start the inning and went to second on a throwing error from first baseman Jason Giambi. With one out, Drew singled sharply to left field and Willis raced home, sliding head-first to the plate to delight the crowd.

Chacin grounded out to leave runners on second and third in the fourth and Brad Hawpe struck out swinging to cap the fifth with men on the corners.

Chris Young walked and stole second with one out in the sixth. Conor Jackson was intentionally walked and the men moved up on a steal and wild pitch. After Chris Snyder struck out, Roberts, again in a pinch-hitting role, doubled down the left field line. Kelly Johnson greeted reliever Randy Flores with an RBI double for a 4-0 lead.

Carlos Rosa started on the bump in the top of the seventh, but surrendered singles to Gonzalez and Spilborghs before walking Giambi to load the bases with nobody out. Troy Tulowitzki and Hawpe each lofted sacrifice flies. Melvin Mora singled and Chris Iannetta walked to re-load the bases. It became a one- run game when Aaron Heilman walked pinch-hitter Seth Smith, but pinch-hitter Ian Stewart fanned to end the frame.

The Rockies didn't have another hitter reach base in the game, and Chad Qualls recorded three groundouts in the ninth to get his 10th save of the year.

Game Notes

Willis is 4-1 lifetime against Colorado...The Diamondbacks tied a franchise- record by playing in their sixth straight game decided by one run...Roberts is 3-for-5 with three RBI in five pinch-hitting appearances after being recalled from Triple-A Reno on May 25...Young had a career-high three stolen bases...Gonzalez is 14-for-28 with five homers and 12 RBI and 11 runs scored this season against the Diamondbacks.

Betosports Baseball Betting News

<< Tolbert's single in ninth sends Twins over A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Tolbert drove in the game-winning run in the ninth to help the Minnesota Twins take a 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the second of a three-game set. Delmon Young finished the game with th

<< Moor goal propels Rapids to win over Crew
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Major League Soccer action on Saturday night. Drew Moor scored the game's only goal in the 85th

<< Keselowski kicks off double-duty weekend with Nashville win
Lebanon, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Keselowski outraced fellow Sprint Cup Series competitor Carl Edwards to win Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway. Keselowski led 97 laps after starting from the 24th s

<< Fire edge Union at Toyota Park
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire earned a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer action at Toyota Park on Saturday night. Goals by Baggio Husidic and Marco Pappa on each side of the half were enou

<< Red Stars sign England defender Asante
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Red Stars signed defender and England national team member Anita Asante on Saturday. Asante was available as free agent following the dissolution of Saint Louis Athletica last week. Asan

Briscoe rebounds with Texas win >>
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Six days after crashing in the Indianapolis 500, Ryan Briscoe from Team Penske bounced back in the IZOD IndyCar Series with an impressive win in Saturday's Firestone 550k at Texas Motor Speedway. Brisco

Seattle dominates New England, 3-0 >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Sounders FC scored three first-half goals then held strong for a 3-0 win over the New England Revolution in a Major League Soccer fixture in front of over 36,000 fans at Qwest Field on Saturda

Milledge saves Pirates in win over Giants >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrew McCutchen went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and three runs scored, and Lastings Milledge made a diving catch on the final play to preserve Pittsburgh's 6-3 decision over the San Francisco

Braves use big seventh inning to beat Dodgers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus' two-run homer and a two-run double by Brian McCann keyed a seven-run seventh inning, as the Braves came away with a 9-3 win over the Dodgers in the third of four games from Chavez Ravine.

Katsumasa Miyamoto wins Japan's Tour Championship >>
Kasama, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japan's Katsumasa Miyamoto closed with a four-over 75 Sunday, but it was enough for him to win the Japan Golf Tour Championship by three strokes. Miyamoto finished his eighth Japan Tour victory at f

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards