Padres end skid at 10, nip Dodgers to stay alone in first

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Hundley homered and drove in two runs, and the Padres snapped a 10-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Dodgers to barely maintain first place in the NL West.

The San Francisco Giants threatened to put the division in a virtual tie after beating Arizona, 2-0, in 11 innings earlier Monday, but the Padres ended their longest losing streak since a franchise-record 13-game string in 1994 to keep a one-game edge.

David Eckstein added an insurance sacrifice fly in the seventh inning for San Diego, which used seven pitchers in the opener of this three-game series. Tim Stauffer lasted four frames in the emergency start for Mat Latos, who was scratched due to the stomach flu. Mike Adams (3-1) pitched 1 2/3 frames for the win and Heath Bell threw the ninth inning for 38th save of the season. He's converted 25 straight save chances, but didn't have an opportunity for one since August 19 at Wrigley Field when the Padres beat the Cubs.

Vicente Padilla (6-5) was charged with five hits and three runs over four innings, as the Dodgers lost for the fifth time in six contests.

The Dodgers had their chances in the sixth and seventh, but didn't capitalize in big situations and finished the night by going 1-for-8 with men in scoring position. They left two men on base in each inning between the fourth and seventh.

Trailing 3-1 in the sixth, the Dodgers put men on first and second with no outs, but Ryan Webb fanned Matt Kemp. Ryan Theriot grounded out, and Brad Ausmus left two men in scoring position when he grounded back to the mound.

Scott Podsednik hit his first homer in a Dodger uniform in the seventh off Luke Gregerson, but Adams escaped a jam later in the frame. With men on first and second, he fanned Andre Ethier to end the inning.

Aaron Cunningham doubled off Jonathan Broxton in the seventh and scored on Eckstein's fly ball to center.

The Dodgers didn't have a man on base in the final two innings.

Hundley hit the first pitch of the bottom of the third over the wall in left, but Ethier's single scored James Loney in the fourth. Theriot lined out to keep runners on first and second to end the inning.

The Padres loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth, and a fielder's choice grounder from Will Venable scored Adrian Gonzalez. It became 3-1 when Hundley singled in Miguel Tejada.

Loney popped out to leave two runners on base in the fifth.

Game Notes

The Dodgers hold a 7-6 edge in the season series...Earlier Monday, the Padres selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Mike Baxter from Triple-A Portland and designated pitcher Steve Garrison for assignment...The Dodgers recalled pitchers John Ely and Jon Link as well as infielder Chin-lung Hu. The club also purchased the contracts of 33-year-old first baseman John Lindsey and 25-year-old third baseman Russ Mitchell from Triple-A Albuquerque. Lindsey will make his major league debut sometime this month after a 15-year minor league career with four organizations.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

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