08/20/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Stewart hit a three-run homer and finished with a career-high five RBI while Brad Hawpe continued his recent strong offensive play with a two-run homer, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
Hawpe, who finished 1-for-3 with three runs scored, is batting .478 with four home runs and nine RBI during his current six-game hit streak for the Rockies, who have won four straight games. Matt Holliday was 4-for-5 with a solo home run in the win.
"Things have been good for us the last four games." said Hawpe. "We got our hits at the right time with runners on base."
Ubaldo Jimenez (9-11) earned the win after he tossed five innings and allowed three runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts.
"I could've done better," said Jimenez. "I'd like to throw more than five innings, but it's great to have a bullpen like ours."
Jeff Kent finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI for Los Angeles, which has dropped two of three following a five-game win streak and fell one game back of the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks. Matt Kemp registered an RBI and a run scored in the loss.
Hiroki Kuroda (7-9), who started and yielded four runs on six hits over six innings, suffered the loss.
Earlier Tuesday, the Dodgers acquired future Hall-of-Fame pitcher Greg Maddux from the San Diego Padres for two minor leaguers to be named later or cash considerations. Maddux pitched for the Dodgers in a portion of the 2006 season and will in essence replace Brad Penny in the starting rotation. Penny was placed on the disabled list on August 14 with right shoulder inflammation.
After the Rockies grabbed an early lead on a two-run single by Stewart in the top of the first, the Dodgers cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the frame on a pair of doubles by Kemp and Kent.
In the top of the third, Hawpe crushed a low fastball over the wall in center field. Holliday, who reached on a one-out single, also scored on Hawpe's 22nd home run of the season for a 4-1 Colorado lead.
A two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth inning brought the Dodgers within 4-3. Nomar Garciaparra's single preceded a double by Casey Blake and with runners on second and third and two outs, a passed ball allowed Garciaparra to cross the plate. Kemp's second double of the game followed and Blake scored, but Andre Ethier fanned to end the frame.
Blake doubled with two outs in the sixth, but Luis Vizcaino induced a groundout off the bat of pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney.
Manny Corpas escaped a big jam in the seventh. Kent and Manny Ramirez both hit two-out singles and Corpas issued a walk to James Loney, but Russell Martin flied out to deep right field.
The Rockies put the game out of reach with a four-run eighth inning. Holliday led off the frame with his 24th homer of the year, a blast which brought Hong- Chih Kuo to the mound from the LA bullpen. Consecutive walks to Hawpe and Garrett Atkins preceded a three-run blast by Stewart, who belted a low fastball over the right-field wall.
"Our bullpen couldn't keep it close," said LA manager Joe Torre.
Game Notes
The scheduled pitching matchup for Wednesday's game is Colorado left-hander Jeff Francis versus Chad Billingsley...The Rockies have won 10 of their last 14 on the road...Jimenez is now 4-0 lifetime against LA...With his double in the game, Kent moved into a tie with Eddie Murray for 20th place on the all-time doubles list with 560...Attendance was 46,687.
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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