Jimenez wins 18th as Rockies double-up Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Tulowitzki hit the go-ahead home run and Ubaldo Jimenez finally picked up his long-awaited 18th win of the season as Colorado outlasted Cincinnati, 10-5, to begin a crucial four-game series at Coors Field.

Jimenez (18-6) became the Rockies' all-time single season wins leader after five prior aborted attempts. He struggled through six innings during which he yielded four runs on seven hits and six walks while striking out eight for the Rockies, who climbed to within four games of division-leading San Diego in the NL West and 4 1/2 games of NL Wild Card pace-setters Philadelphia.

Tulowitzki finished 2-for-5 with three RBI, while the red-hot Carlos Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with two RBI to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games for Colorado, which won its major league-leading 30th day game.

Bill Bray (0-2) took the loss after surrendering three runs on two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings in relief for the Reds, who have dropped three of four and saw their lead in the NL Central trimmed to six games after St. Louis downed Milwaukee earlier in the day.

Cincinnati sent 10 men to the plate and manufactured the first four runs of the game in the third.

Drew Stubbs walked, advanced to third on a Paul Janish ground-rule double and scored on a Brandon Phillips groundout. Janish then scored on Chris Heisey's two-out bunt base hit to third.

Joey Votto followed with another ground-rule double in front of Jonny Gomes, who flared a single into right to chase home Heisey and Votto.

Colorado came right back in the bottom half to get the game tied with a four- spot of its own.

The rally started with a walk to Jimenez that was followed by Eric Young's double and a walk to Dexter Fowler that loaded the bases with one out.

Gonzalez followed with a double to right to deliver two runs and Tulowitzki then tripled to center to chase home two more runs to level the count. Todd Helton walked to spell the end of the day for Aaron Harang. Jordan Smith came in and got Melvin Mora to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Harang was charged with four runs on four hits and three walks over just 2 1/3 innings in his shortest start of the season.

The Reds wasted an opportunity to retake the lead in the fifth as they had runners at the corners with nobody out and did not score. Jimenez struck out Stubbs, got Janish to pop out and fanned pinch-hitter Yonder Alonso.

Bray opened the fifth on the hill for the visitors and served up a two-out solo shot to Tulowitzki that gave the Rockies their first lead at 5-4.

The visitors threatened again in the sixth as they loaded the bases with two outs before Jimenez got Ramon Hernandez to ground out with his 123rd and final pitch of the afternoon.

Colorado expanded its lead in the bottom of the inning with three runs.

Aroldis Chapman assumed the hill with runners at first and second and two outs and gave up an RBI single to Eric Young, Jr. Fowler legged out an infield hit that was fielded by a sprawling Janish at short, who threw from his back wildly past second base, allowing Chris Nelson to score to make it a 7-4 contest.

An infield hit by Gonzalez loaded the bases and a passed ball by catcher Ryan Hanigan, who had entered the game with Chapman as part of a double switch, scored Young to make it an 8-4 game.

The hosts tacked on a pair of runs in the seventh against Carlos Fisher on an RBI double by Miguel Olivo and a pinch-hit RBI single by Ryan Spilborghs.

The Reds got a run back in the eighth on a two-out, run-producing hit by Juan Francisco.

Game Notes

Gonzalez has 10 multi-hit games, including in five of his last six, during his hitting streak. He has an extra-base hit in 12 of those games and has driven in a run in 10 of them...Jimenez has a league-leading 11 wins during the day. He improved to 8-1 at home this season and to 3-0 in five career starts versus the Reds...Colorado has won seven straight home games over Cincinnati...Heisey has hit safely in seven of his last eight...Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez was scheduled to make his second start for low class-A Dayton Monday afternoon and is expected to rejoin the team later this week.

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FOOTBALL BETTING

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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