Ramirez quiet in return but Dodgers still double-up Padres
Baseball Betting Lines
07/04/2009 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez returned from a 50-game suspension and played only 5 1/2 innings, going 0-for-3 with a walk, two groundouts and a pop out, but the rest of his Dodger teammates picked up the slack and used a five-run first inning to defeat the Padres, 6-3, in front of a partisan crowd at Petco Park.
Ramirez came to bat as the third hitter in the first inning, and the 42,217 partisan fans erupted into a mixture of jeers and applause and stood for the entire plate appearance, which ended in a seven-pitch walk. The 12-time All- Star was suspended on May 7 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance and was subsequently banished from Major League Baseball until Friday.
"It was great, it was the best," Ramirez said after the game. "The fans in LA drove (to San Diego) to watch me, it was unbelievable."
Ramirez was lifted in the middle of the sixth for the speedy Juan Pierre, who made sure the Dodgers didn't miss a beat in the absence of their star outfielder. Pierre started all 50 games during the suspension, batting .318 with 14 doubles, 21 runs batted in, 31 runs scored, 15 walks and 20 steals.
"I don't think theres any question he's rusty," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of Ramirez. "He really hasn't had a lot of practice, but I thought that first at-bat was pretty amazing. It shows how good of a hitter he is and how he knows the strike zone.
"I thought it would help the defense with (Pierre) out there (in the field) because he's been playing, and that's how I made the decision (to take Ramirez out)," Torre added.
During the suspension, LA went a respectable 29-21, maintaining their healthy lead atop the NL West standings. Although the record without him was solid in a weak National League, the team moved to 21-7 this season with him in the starting lineup.
"Everyone in the clubhouse is a professional hitter, and they can do a lot of great things without me," Ramirez said. "I'm there just to follow and bring my presence and make everyone feel comfortable."
Prior to the game, Ramirez offered a public apology for his actions, although he didn't delve into the details of his drug usage. He was suspended for reportedly taking the banned substance human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a female fertility drug that can also be used as an antidote to reduce testosterone levels at the end of a cycle of steroid treatments.
Following the 0-for-3 outing, Ramirez's average dropped to .337 to go along with six homers and 20 RBI so far in 2009.
As far as his other teammates were concerned, Russell Martin and Matt Kemp each drove in a pair of runs, as LA won for the third time in its last four games. Rafael Furcal went 4-for-5 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot, and Hiroki Kuroda (3-4) earned his second win this season against San Diego after yielding three runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Jonathan Broxton earned his 20th save of the season in the win.
Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run double, while Scott Hairston blasted a solo homer for San Diego, which has lost seven of 10. Chad Gaudin (4-7), who hurled eight one-hit, scoreless innings in Texas his last time out, was touched for six runs on seven hits, with four walks and four strikeouts, in five frames.
The Dodgers took a huge lead in the first thanks to a couple bad throws by the Padres. Furcal singled to start and moved to second on a groundout by Orlando Hudson. Ramirez, in his first plate appearance, drew a seven-pitch walk, and Ethier followed with a grounder to first.
Gonzalez was able to make the throw for the force out at second, but the throw back to first for the double play sailed wide and off the Padres' dugout. Gaudin quickly grabbed it and fired home, except that the throw was wide of the plate, allowing Furcal to score for an early lead.
Casey Blake followed with a walk, and James Loney hit an RBI single to make it 2-0. A bloop RBI single to shallow right-center by Martin gave the Dodgers a three-run edge.
LA didn't stop the offense there, as Kemp drilled a two-run double to the gap in right-center to cap the opening frame.
Martin added an RBI groundout in the third to give the Dodgers a 6-0 lead.
Hairston put the Padres on the board in the fourth on a one-out solo homer.
San Diego cut into its deficit with two runs in the sixth, knocking Kuroda out of the game. Tony Gwynn Jr. worked a leadoff walk and moved to second on David Eckstein's single. Two batters later, Gonzalez ripped a double past Kemp in center field to score both runners and make it a 6-3 game.
Guillermo Mota came in to replace Kuroda and got out of the inning without any further damage. Mota stayed in to also pitch a scoreless seventh.
Ramon Troncoso retired two of the three hitters he faced in the eighth, and Brent Leach came in to face Gonzalez, who hit a long fly ball to deep left that Juan Pierre was able to track down to maintain the 6-3 lead.
Broxton came in and set down the Padres in order to polish off the win.
Game Notes
Gwynn has hit safely in 21 of his last 25 games and is batting .301 on the season...LA began a nine-game road trip Friday against San Diego, New York and Milwaukee...Kuroda moved to 4-1 in six career starts against the Padres...LA leads the season series, 8-3.
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Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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