Marson slams Indians past Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lou Marson's first career grand slam highlighted a five-run sixth inning, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 6-1 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Angels in the middle test of a three- game set.

Travis Hafner added his 11th homer of the season for the Indians, who have won the first two games of this series. Jordan Brown and Michael Brantley each added two hits in the win.

Justin Masterson (6-12) continued the Indians' string of good starting pitching, allowing just one run on six hits and two walks while fanning five in seven frames. Cleveland starters have now allowed three or fewer runs in 12 of 13 games.

"I had good control with my mechanics," Masterson said. "I kept the ball down in the zone, and I had some good defense. Things are coming together."

Torii Hunter homered for the Angels, who have lost five straight at home for the first time since April 28-May 2, 2006. With 15 losses in 21 games, Los Angeles has fallen 9 1/2 games behind Texas in the AL West.

Trevor Bell (2-5) pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on four hits and three walks to receive the loss.

"Trevor never got into a rhythm," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "We had one bad inning, and they were patient and got the home run. We have to clean some stuff up."

After the Angels tied the game in the fifth, the Indians used a couple big swings to go ahead for good in the sixth.

Hafner began the inning with a blast just over the large wall in right-center. The umpires needed to review it despite initially ruling it correctly, and the replay confirmed the result.

Brown singled two batters later off Francisco Rodriguez, who relieved Bell, and Rodriguez issued consecutive walks to Jason Donald and Luis Valbuena to load the bases with one out. Marson followed by belting a waist-high fastball just over the left-field wall for a grand slam and 6-1 lead.

Masterson and the Indians bullpen held the Angels scoreless down the stretch.

The Indians got on the board in the third on Shin-Soo Choo's sacrifice fly, but Hunter tied the game in the fifth on a long home run to center.

Game Notes

The Indians lead the season series, 3-2...Angels pitcher Scot Shields (elbow) left the game...With wins in the first two games of this series, the Indians clinched their first series victory in Anaheim since May 9-11, 2005...Marson also threw out 2-of-2 potential base stealers, raising his season total to 23- of-63, the best percentage in the majors...Angels starters have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 of 12 games.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.

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