Desmond, Nationals rally to beat Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

06/04/2010 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Desmond singled in the winning run as part of a two-run seventh inning rally that lifted Washington to a 4-2 win over Cincinnati in the opener of a three-game series at Nationals Park.

Desmond, Cristian Guzman and Adam Dunn each finished with a pair of hits for the Nationals, who snapped a three-game slide and won for just a second time in their last seven games.

Tyler Clippard (8-3) earned the win with one shutout inning in relief, as Washington beat the Reds for a fourth straight game going back to August of last season. Matt Capps stranded two runners in the ninth to earn his 18th save.

Enerio Del Rosario (1-1) took the loss after allowing the decisive runs -- both unearned -- in 1 2/3 innings of work for the Reds, who have dropped four of their last five.

Brandon Phillips had three hits and drove in a run for Cincinnati.

Josh Willingham led off the seventh against Del Rosario with a single and moved to second base on a dropped fly ball that allowed Roger Bernadina to reach first base. Desmond followed with a base hit to left field to score Willingham with the go-ahead run. Bernadina advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Willie Harris pinch-hit sacrifice fly to give the Nats a 4-2 lead.

Drew Storen tossed a scoreless eighth inning and turned the game over to Capps, the major league leader in saves.

Laynce Nix delivered a leadoff pinch-hit single to start the ninth and Phillips singled with one out. The right-hander bounced back to strike out Joey Votto and get Scott Rolen to foul out to end the game.

The Reds tallied first in the second inning when Drew Stubbs singled with one out, stole second base and came around to score on a Ramon Hernandez base hit.

The Nationals answered in the bottom of the inning when Desmond singled with one out, moved to second base on a wild pitch, stayed put when Livan Hernandez walked with two outs and scored on Guzman's looping single into left field.

Washington grabbed the lead in the third on a bloop single into centerfield by Bernadina with one out that plated Ryan Zimmerman.

Reds hurler Aaron Harang made it through only four frames, yielding a pair of runs on eight hits. He walked one and fanned four and was followed by Micah Owings, who worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and Daniel Ray Herrera, who got one out.

The visitors scored to even the game at two in the fifth when Phillips singled home Orlando Cabrera, who had started the inning with a base hit and moved into scoring position on a balk.

Hernandez lasted six innings for the Nats, allowing two runs on eight hits while walking four and fanning three. Clippard worked a scoreless seventh to earn his first win since May 12.

Game Notes

Harang visited troops Friday morning at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 23 of Washington's last 30 games have been decided by two runs or less, while seven of the Reds last nine losses have been by one or two runs...Phillips extended his hitting streak to seven games...He has 15 hits during the streak, including five multi-hit games...Hernandez has gone six starts since his last win on May 4. He is 2-7 in 14 career starts against the Reds and has not beaten them since September, 2000 while pitching for San Francisco.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.

MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)
Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma)
Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State)
Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)
Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia)
Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville)
Chris Leak (QB, Florida)
Mike Hart (RB, Michigan)
Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State)
Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame)
Drew Tate (QB, Iowa)
Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)
Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn)
Chad Henne (QB, Michigan)
Kyle Wright (QB, Miami)
Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State)
Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama)
JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)
Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State)
Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina)
Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech)		 5-2
7-2
7-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
18-1
18-1
20-1
30-1
35-1
35-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.