Billingsley goes the distance as Dodgers down Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2007 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley's night on the mound epitomized his season, throwing an almost flawless complete game in the Dodgers' 10-2 pounding of Houston in the opening contest of a three-game set at Minute Maid Park.

Billingsley (7-0) went the distance with ease, scattering two runs and five hits with three walks and six strikeouts. He improved to 5-0 away from Dodger Stadium, denying an Astros club that had won 10 of 14 at home.

The right-hander continued to climb the charts in Dodgers pitching lure, becoming the first pitcher to begin the season 7-0 since Matt Herges started 8-0 in 2000.

The bats gave him plenty of support. James Loney put the exclamation point on proceedings with a three-run homer in the ninth, but Luis Gonzalez and Jeff Kent did the damage to break open the contest. Kent finished 4-for-4 with two RBI and Gonzalez drove in three runs for Los Angeles, which had lost three of four entering play Monday.

Chris Sampson (7-7) took the loss, surrendering four runs on eight hits over five frames.

The Astros managed just four singles, two from Mike Lamb, before Luke Scott's two-out, two-run homer just over the wall in right. The floundering Astros have alternated wins and losses over the last seven games.

The Dodgers took the quick edge in their first at-bat, as Rafael Furcal singled to right, moved to second on Juan Pierre's sacrifice bunt and rounded third and crossed the plate on Kent's single.

Los Angeles added to its advantage in the fourth, scoring courtesy of a Sampson wild pitch. Kent doubled and moved to third on Gonzalez's grounder to second before Sampson uncorked a pitch low and right of Eric Munson behind the plate.

Two more runs crossed the plate in the fifth. Furcal reached on an infield single, Pierre singled to right and Kent drove a single to left. Gonzalez then drove two home on a base hit that just leaked past Craig Biggio at second and into center field.

The game turned into a rout in the seventh, just as Billingsley continued to mow down the Houston lineup. Russell Martin doubled in front of Kent's double and Gonzalez's two-bagger drove in pinch-runner Ramon Martinez.

Nomar Garciaparra's base hit into right-center scored Gonzalez for the 7-0 lead. Garciaparra finished 3-for-5 on the night.

Loney's three-run shot in the ninth preceded Scott's two-run homer in the bottom of the frame.

Game Notes

Kent has reached safely in 34 consecutive games dating back to June 8...Kent's four-hit game was his first since September 18, 2006 versus San Diego...Loney has been on base in 28 straight contests going back to June 22...Billingsley threw 70 of his 109 pitches for strikes...Furcal finished 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored...Houston outfielder Hunter Pence underwent an MRI on Monday and was diagnosed with a sprain and chip fracture in his right wrist and will be sidelined four-to-six weeks...Attendance was 38,245.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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