Alvarez, Pirates hang on to beat Brewers following nine-run first

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Pedro Alvarez hit two homers, including his first career grand slam, as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored nine times in the first inning and held on to edge the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-9, in the second of a four-game set at PNC Park.

Alvarez knocked in five runs, while rookie Neil Walker went 5-for-5 with an RBI and run scored for Pittsburgh, which snapped a five-game losing streak to Milwaukee, but won for only the third time in its last 11 overall. Jose Tabata added a two-run double in the win.

D.J. Carrasco (2-2) was credited with the win for throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts. Pirates starter Brad Lincoln labored through 2 1/3 innings, allowing nine hits and seven runs with one strikeout. Octavio Dotel recorded his 20th save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

Jim Edmonds hit a three-run homer and Ryan Braun added a two-run shot for the Brewers, who had won six of eight coming in.

Dave Bush (4-8) was raked for 10 runs -- five earned -- on nine hits with a pair of walks and as many strikeouts over four innings. The right-hander snapped a streak of six straight starts having allowed two runs or fewer.

Pittsburgh jumped all over Bush, sending 13 hitters to the plate and putting up a nine-spot in the first. The Pirates loaded the bases on back-to-back singles and a walk with one out before Alvarez cracked a 2-2 hanging curveball into the right-field seats.

Lastings Milledge then singled, moved to second on Bush's pickoff attempt and scored when Erik Kratz's grounder couldn't be handled by third baseman Casey McGehee. Ronny Cedeno reached on another error by McGehee that put runners on first and second. After Lincoln bunted the runners up a base, Tabata brought in both with a double to right. Delwyn Young and Walker added back-to-back RBI two-baggers for a 9-0 game.

It was the first time the Pirates scored nine runs in the first inning since June 8, 1989 when they scored 10 at Philadelphia, but lost the game 15-11.

Milwaukee answered with three in the second inning on run-scoring singles from Alcides Escobar, Jonathan Lucroy and Rickie Weeks.

Alvarez clubbed a homer leading off the home second to make it 10-3, but the Brewers put four up in the third. Prince Fielder and McGehee hit consecutive one-out singles before Edmonds' launched a three-run shot to center. Escobar followed with a triple and crossed the plate on Lucroy's infield single which would signal the end of the night for Lincoln.

Carrasco came on and prevented further damage with a pair of strikeouts, then tossed a scoreless fourth and fifth.

Brendan Donnelly replaced Carrasco in the sixth and walked Weeks leading off, and Braun homered to left two batters later to cut the Milwaukee deficit to 10-9. Garrett Jones' sacrifice fly in the home half put the Bucs up by two.

Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan worked a scoreless seventh and eighth inning, respectively, bridging the gap to Dotel, who struck out the first two hitters in the ninth. The closer then served up a double to Edmonds, but fanned Escobar to end the game.

Game Notes

It was the first time the Pirates scored nine runs in the first inning at home since August 8, 1893 versus the Chicago Colts...Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen missed his second straight game with a right shoulder injury suffered on Sunday versus Houston and is listed as day-to-day...Pittsburgh manager John Russell was ejected in the top of the seventh for arguing a foul ball...Walker became the first Pirates rookie to have five hits in a game since John Wehner on July 23, 1991 against Atlanta.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.