Sadowski, Giants' offense destroy Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/04/2009 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Sadowski got plenty of run support while throwing seven scoreless innings, as the Giants erupted offensively in a 13-0 whipping of the Astros.

Sadowski (2-0), who made his major league debut Sunday at Milwaukee and threw six shutout innings, allowed just three hits and a walk while fanning four for San Francisco, which was coming off a 5-5 road trip.

Nate Schierholtz and Edgar Renteria each contributed three hits to the onslaught, Pablo Sandoval added two more, including a homer and three RBI, and Travis Ishikawa belted a three-run homer for the victors.

Houston starter Felipe Paulino (2-5) lasted just two innings, getting tattooed for nine runs -- eight earned -- on nine hits for the Astros, who lost the opener of this three-game set after taking three of four from San Diego.

Sandoval got the rout started with a two-run homer in the first, scoring Randy Winn. Schierholtz followed with a single and later scored on a passed ball.

The Giants got more than they needed in the second. With two on and one out, Winn tripled to the gap in right-center for a 5-0 lead and came around on Schierholtz's two-out single. Renteria made it first and third with a base hit, and Ishikawa pounded an 0-1 changeup over the wall in right-center.

The three-run bomb was originally ruled a double, but instant replay was used and overturned the call to complete the six-run frame.

Jeff Fulchino toed the rubber in the home third and continued to serve as a punching dummy for the hosts. Aaron Rowand doubled with two outs, and the next four Giants recorded run-scoring hits.

Andres Torres hit a pinch-hit single, Sandoval followed with a triple and Schierholtz and Renteria capped the inning with a double and single, respectively, as the scoreboard ballooned to 13-0.

Sadowski allowed just one hit through six innings, and Jonathan Sanchez polished off the shutout with two scoreless frames of relief.

Game Notes

It was the first meeting of the season between the clubs...San Fran has won four straight as the host...Juan Uribe went 0-for-5 for the Giants, the only starting position player for the team not to register a hit...The Astros did not have any extra-base hits, compared to seven for the Giants.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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