Braun hits game-winner as Brewers edge Nationals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun drove in Rickie Weeks with the game-winning run in the ninth inning, as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the Washington Nationals, 4-3, in the middle test of a three-game series.

Braun and Jim Edmonds each recorded a solo home run in Milwaukee's third straight win, which was credited to John Axford (6-1) despite his suffering his first blown save of the season.

After Adam Dunn's sacrifice fly tied it in the top of the ninth, Weeks reached on a one-out single off Drew Storen (2-2) in the bottom half. Joe Inglett took a payoff pitch off the plate to draw a walk, then Braun roped a line drive off the base of the left-field wall to bring in Weeks without a play at the plate.

Axford was perfect in 14 save chances coming in, but quickly loaded the bases on back-to-back singles and a perfectly-placed bunt down the third base line by pinch-hitter Nyjer Morgan.

Dunn came in to hit for Ivan Rodriguez and lofted a fly to short right-center that was caught by Carlos Gomez, whose throw home was not in time to nab Ryan Zimmerman.

Axford, appearing in his third game in as many nights, got out of the inning with the score tied by inducing a short flyout to right by pinch-hitter Wil Nieves and a harmless groundout by Alberto Gonzalez.

Manny Parra allowed two runs on four hits and three walks over a six-inning start for Milwaukee, while J.D. Martin lasted just 2 1/3 innings and gave up a run on three hits and three walks for Washington, which dropped the opener of this set, 7-5.

Braun's blast to right-center gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the first.

Despite failing to score with the bases loaded in the second and squandering a leadoff triple in the third, the hosts went up 2-0 in the fourth when Collin Balester served up a homer to Edmonds, who made a nice grab in the away half.

Parra faced the minimum through four frames, but walked Josh Willingham to open the fifth and yielded a single to Mike Morse. A flyout moved the lead runner up, and Ian Desmond hit a line drive that appeared to find the gap in right.

Edmonds, whose last of his eight Gold Gloves came in 2005, ranged over from center and made a diving catch. Morse was nearly at third when the catch was made, but Willingham scored before Morse was doubled off first.

Weeks was hit on the left ear flap of his helmet with a Balester pitch in the bottom half, but stayed in the game and was stranded on third.

Gonzalez singled leading off the sixth, and Roger Bernadina later brought him in with a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game. Parra left the bases full by striking out Morse.

Edmonds led off the bottom half with a single, moved to third on an Alcides Escobar base hit and scored when Jonathan Lucroy doubled off the center field wall. Edmonds then left the game with a tight right hamstring.

Game Notes

Balester had made 22 starts with Washington during the 2008-09 seasons but had spent the entire 2010 campaign in Triple-A Syracuse. The right-hander was recalled Saturday but is expected to be sent right back down, as Ross Detwiler is scheduled to be brought up from the minors to make Sunday's start opposite Dave Bush...Brewers outfielder Corey Hart sat out due to a right wrist injury he sustained during Friday's game...The Brewers have homered in 13 straight games...The Nationals have lost 12 straight one-run contests on the road and 11 of their last 13 overall at Miller Park.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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