Conrad's grand slam caps Atlanta's seven-run ninth, shocking Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

05/20/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Conrad hit a pinch-hit, game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Atlanta Braves scored seven times in the frame to come back and shock the Cincinnati Reds, 10-9, and complete the sweep of a brief two-game series at Turner Field.

Nate McLouth contributed a two-run single in the ninth, while Martin Prado and Jason Heyward knocked in a run apiece for the Braves, who have won three straight and eight of their last 10 overall.

Atlanta's Tommy Hanson got the start and was raked for a career-high eight runs on as many hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts in only 1 2/3 innings. Craig Kimbrel (1-0) was credited with the win for tossing a scoreless top of the ninth. It was his first major league victory.

Joey Votto cracked his first career grand slam, while Laynce Nix added a solo shot and knocked in three for Cincinnati, which has dropped two in a row after winning four straight.

Mike Leake worked six solid innings, giving up three runs -- one earned -- on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Francisco Cordero (1-3) absorbed the loss for giving up the grand slam in the ninth.

"It was kind of a shock, disappointing, obviously to finish off the game that way," Votto said. "I don't think anybody assumed we were going to win the game until it was over, but you go into the ninth inning comfortable and the bullpen has been excellent so far, another reason it was a shock to us."

Mike Lincoln replaced Leake after six frames and appeared to have things in total control after throwing a perfect seventh and eighth inning. The veteran right-hander stayed on for the ninth with the Reds up 9-3 and got into trouble.

Three straight singles loaded the bases and McClouth's two-run base hit made it a 9-5 game, leaving runners on the corners with nobody out.

Nick Masset came in out of the bullpen and walked David Ross to load the bases. Masset then got Prado to ground to third, but Miguel Cairo was unable to get the ball out of his glove, allowing another run to cross the plate. Arthur Rhodes entered the game and struck out Heyward.

Manager Dusty Baker again turned to his bullpen and brought in Cordero, who left a 2-2 fastball out over the plate and Conrad hammered it to deep left. Nix appeared to have a beat on the ball, but as he leapt at the wall to grab it, the ball hit off the left fielder's glove and went over for the dramatic grand slam.

"What an unbelievable game," Conrad said. "Getting down early, them hitting Tommy (Hanson) like that. Just perseverance. We stuck there the whole game, we scratched out a few runs, guys battled in the ninth and gave us a chance. Definitely unbelievable excitement. I'm speechless right now."

Hanson worked out of trouble in the first, but the young right-hander wasn't so fortunate in the second, as the Reds sent 12 men to the plate and pushed across eight runs -- all with two outs.

Cincinnati loaded the bases before Cairo's RBI base hit got the scoring started. Votto then crushed a fastball into the center field seats for a 5-0 game. After the next two batters reached, Ramon Hernandez brought in a run with a base hit and Nix followed with a two-run double to make it 8-0. Hanson was lifted for Jesse Chavez, who got the final out of the inning.

Atlanta got on the board in the third when Prado hit a ground-rule double and crossed the plate on Leake's missed catch error at first base on a grounder hit by Heyward.

Nix clubbed a solo shot in the fifth to make it a 9-1 game before the Braves responded with two in the bottom half. Atlanta loaded the bases with a walk and two singles, then Heyward grounded to first and Votto's throw was dropped at second base by shortstop Orlando Cabrera, allowing two runs to score.

Game Notes

The Reds won six of nine versus the Braves last year, sweeping all three meetings at Turner Field from September 4-6...Atlanta finished 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded only four runners, while Cincinnati went 4-for-13 with RISP and left eight.

Loteryamerica Baseball Betting News

<< Zach Thomas retires as a Dolphin
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linebacker Zach Thomas announced his retirement on Thursday after signing a one-day contract with the Miami Dolphins, for whom he played between 1996 through 2007. Thomas left Miami after an injury-plagued 2007

<< Cards double up Marlins, earn series split
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday's two-run, go-ahead double in the second inning held up, as the Cardinals earned a split of a two-game series against the Marlins with a 4-2 decision. Ryan Ludwick and David Freese ea

<< Belmont Stakes prospect preps in turf race
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Madrid, a Belmont Stakes candidate, faded down the stretch Thursday at Belmont Park in his first race in more than a month. The three-year-old colt was using the optional claiming event as a prep for the

<< Webb to referee Champions League final
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Howard Webb will referee Saturday's Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in Madrid, Spain. Webb, who has been an international referee since 2005, will be assisted by his countrymen

<< Neuer vows to stay at Schalke
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany international goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has vowed to stay with Schalke, having continually been linked with a move to Bayern Munich in the past few months. The 24-year-old had seemed cer

Bayern's Altintop to play key role against Inter >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich's Hamit Altintop has sat on the bench a lot this season, going unused in more than 20 matches, but don't look for him there Saturday in the Champions League final against Inter Milan. Coach Lou

Russia, Germany advance to World semis, join Sweden and Czechs >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thanks to a pair of goals by Evgeni Malkin and three assists from Ilya Kovalchuk, Russia won its 26th consecutive World Championship contest, topping Canada by a 5-2 count to earn a berth in the sem

Villa rejects City's offer for Milner >>
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aston Villa has rejected a $28 million offer from Manchester City for James Milner. City have been linked with a move for the England midfielder since the end of a season where he was named PFA Young

Yankees put Posada on DL, bring up Moeller >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees placed injured catcher Jorge Posada on the 15-day disabled list Thursday. Posada has a hairline fracture on the bottom of his right foot, and it was announced Wednesday he will be sidelin

Benitez wants to stay at Liverpool >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Benitez insists he is ready to see out the remaining four years of his Liverpool contract despite being expected to leave Anfield this summer. The Spaniard was believed to be heading o

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)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .

Since the late 1990's, MySportsbook.com has been an online sportsbook / poker room / casino that focuses on quality.. MySportsbook caters to the experienced sports fan who values reliability and accuracy, with great attention to detail. MySportsbook's success over the past 3 years has made them the envy of the sports gambling industry. There are hundreds of sites appearing all over the Internet claiming to be the next best sportsbook online, each one is trying to use the same marketing techniques as MySportsbook originated.

If you want to try the most stylish and reliable type of online sportsbook, go with MySportsbook. Most online sportsbooks give you live odds and plenty of games and events to bet on, at MySportsbook they'll give you that and more. While perfection may be a lofty goal, MySportsbook attempts to achieve that goal. All sorts of ways to bet on football, football betting, Super Bowl betting lines.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.