Milwaukee uses long ball, Gallardo's impressive start to down Pirates

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yovani Gallardo came off the disabled list and tossed six scoreless innings, and the Brewers used a pair of home runs to down the Pirates, 3-2, in the finale of a four-game set.

Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks went deep behind Gallardo (9-4), who scattered five hits and a walk while fanning five to help Milwaukee earn a split in the series and in its eight-game road trip.

John Axford recorded the final five outs to earn his 13th save of the season.

Ross Ohlendorf (1-8) was the hard-luck loser, allowing one run on five hits and a walk to go with six strikeouts for Pittsburgh, which had won four of five coming in. Neil Walker went 2-for-3 and drove in both Pirates runs in the loss.

Fielder broke a scoreless tie with his 24th home run of the season leading off the fourth, a towering fly over the right-center field wall.

Gallardo, who has been sidelined since suffering a right oblique strain on July 4, only had one clean inning -- the fourth -- but kept the Pirates off the board.

Pittsburgh's Evan Meek surrendered a pinch-hit single to Carlos Gomez in the seventh, then served up a no-doubter to Weeks for a 3-0 game, just the third home run the All-Star reliever has allowed in 53 2/3 innings this season.

The Pirates, coming off their first 15-run game in nearly two years, rallied with two outs in the bottom half. Todd Coffey plunked Jose Tabata to get Pittsburgh's attention, Delwyn Young followed with a base hit and Walker drove in both runners with a double to the right-field wall.

Fielder tried scoring from second on Alcides Escobar's single to left in the eighth, but Lastings Milledge's throw beat the plodding runner in plenty of time. Fielder attempted to barrel over Erik Kratz, but the 6-foot-4, 255- pound catcher kept his feet and held on to the ball for the final out.

Chris Capuano, who retired the final batter of the seventh, got Pedro Alvarez to ground out to start the eighth before Axford set down the next five Pirates hitters to finish off the win.

Game Notes

Weeks, who now has 19 home runs, also recorded his third triple of the year...20 of Fielder's 24 home runs this season are of the solo variety...Pirates rookie Pedro Alvarez went 0-for-4 after notching back-to- back multi-homer games...The Pirates placed catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15-day disabled list due on Thursday due to a concussion and recalled catcher Jason Jaramillo from Triple-A Indianapolis...Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen did not start for a fourth game in a row due to a right shoulder injury...To make room for Gallardo, the Brewers optioned outfielder Lorenzo Cain to Triple-A Nashville... The Brewers lead the season series, 10-4.

Wwwgamblingregistry Baseball Betting News

<< Lakers sign Theo Ratliff
El Segundo, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers added depth to their frontcourt on Thursday by signing veteran center Theo Ratliff. The Los Angeles Times reports it's a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum of $1.35 million.

<< Pavano stretches unbeaten streak, blanks Orioles
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pavano's remarkable campaign continued against an American League bottom-feeder, as Minnesota blanked Baltimore, 5-0, in the first of four games at Camden Yards. One season removed from a 5-plus e

<< Mariners deal minor league INF Hannahan to Red Sox
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners traded minor league infielder Jack Hannahan to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Hannahan, a third-round draft pick by the Tigers in 2001

<< Hamburg loans striker Berg to PSV
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg loaned 23-year-old striker Marcus Berg to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on Thursday. Berg joined PSV on a one-year loan deal. PSV is coached by former Schalke boss Fred Rutten. Berg scored four goals i

<< Westermann signs five-year deal with Hamburg
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heiko Westermann finalized his move from Schalke to Hamburg on Thursday, as the German defender signed a five-year deal with his new club. Westermann, 26, had 12 goals in 92 matches for Schalke. H

Phillies fire hitting coach Thompson >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies, who have struggled at the plate and are seven games behind NL East-leading Atlanta, fired hitting coach Milt Thompson Thursday night. The move came hours after the

Notre Dame-Miami to renew rivalry in 2012 >>
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Miami and the University of Notre Dame football programs have agreed to play each other in 2012, 22 years after the schools last met. The game will be played at Soldier Field in Chica

Chivas defender Bornstein out with knee injury >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA captain Jonathan Bornstein will be sidelined two weeks with a knee injury suffered Sunday in the SuperLiga match against the Houston Dynamo, the Major League Soccer club announced Thursday. Bornst

A-Rod moves one step closer to 600; Yankees down Royals >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez hit home run No. 599 and drove in four runs total, and the Yankees defeated the Royals, 10-4, in the start to a four-game series at Yankee Stadium. Rodriguez hit his 16th homer of the season a

Lee finally wins with Texas; Rangers edge Angels >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee pitched 8 1/3 solid frames for his first win in a Texas uniform, leading the Rangers past the AL West rival Angels, 3-2, in the first of four games. In just his third start for Texas since

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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