Holm's first career homer propels Giants past Phillies

Baseball Betting Lines

05/11/2008 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Holm's first major league home run in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in the winning run, as the San Francisco Giants edged the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3, in the rubber match at AT&T Park.

Jonathan Sanchez gave up three runs on four hits with five walks in 4 1/3 innings. Jack Taschner (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up the win.

Bengie Molina doubled and scored two runs for the Giants, who have won two straight on the heels of a season-high five-game skid. John Bowker went 2- for-3 and knocked in a run.

Adam Eaton gave up two runs on five hits with five walks and four strikeouts over five-plus innings. J.C. Romero (3-1) allowed two runs in the seventh to absorb the loss.

Ryan Howard had an RBI triple for the Phillies, who have dropped three of their last four games. Philadelphia was limited to only six hits in the loss.

Trailing 3-2 in the seventh, Randy Winn lined a two-out single off Romero to keep the inning alive. Holm then hammered the first pitch he saw from Romero over the wall in left field.

Brian Wilson worked around a one-out single by Greg Dobbs in the ninth to notch his 11th save of the season.

The Giants jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Molina led off with a single, advanced to second on a walk to Aaron Rowand and crossed the plate when Bowker hit a bloop single over the outstretched left arm of shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

A two-out double by Pedro Feliz in the top of the fourth put runners on second and third and the Giants decided to intentionally walk Carlos Ruiz with Eaton due up next. The move proved costly as Eaton drew a walk to bring in Pat Burrell, who was given a free pass earlier in the frame.

San Francisco loaded the bases in the home half and reclaimed the lead when Jose Castillo grounded into a 4-3 double play.

The Phillies answered with two runs in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead. Chase Utley drew a one-out walk and Howard followed with a stand-up triple that chased Sanchez from the game. Billy Sadler took over on the mound and Burrell greeted him with a sacrifice fly to put the visitors ahead.

The Giants squandered a glorious opportunity with the bases loaded in the sixth. Eaton's first pitch of the inning nailed Molina and Emmanuel Burriss entered as a pinch runner. Rowand then sliced a double over the head of Jayson Werth in right. Durbin relieved the maddeningly inconsistent Eaton and hit Bowker to load the bases.

Castillo lined a scorcher to Howard, who turned the unassisted double play. Following an intentional walk to Omar Vizquel, Durbin struck out pinch- hitter Ray Durham to end the threat.

Game Notes

Howard recorded his first triple since June 20, 2006...The two clubs split the season series, 3-3...San Francisco improved to 9-9 in games decided by one run...The Giants left nine men on base, while the Phillies stranded seven...Attendance was 35,999.

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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.