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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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

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