Penny struggles, still leads Dodgers past Mets

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kemp crushed a three-run home run in a five-run fourth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers recovered from a shaky outing by Brad Penny to beat the New York Mets, 8-6, at Dodger Stadium.

Penny (12-1) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs -- three earned -- on six hits, with a pair of walks and five strikeouts. With the win, he became the first starting pitcher to open a season 12-1 for the Dodgers since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

The right-hander, who is now 7-0 over his last 11 starts, is trying to avoid the second-half letdown that ruined his season last year. He went 10-2 before the All- Star break in 2006, but went just 6-7 in the second half with a 6.25 ERA.

Kemp finished with a pair of hits, three RBI and two runs scored for the Dodgers, who had dropped the first two games of this four-game series. Juan Pierre also had two hits and knocked in a pair of runs, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.

Jorge Sosa (7-5) gave up six runs and eight hits over four innings for New York, which had won three of four coming in. Carlos Beltran and David Wright both contributed two-run home runs.

The Mets jumped on Penny for two runs in the second. Wright drew a leadoff walk, and Carlos Delgado singled before a throwing error by Andre Ethier put runners at second and third with no outs. Ramon Castro's sacrifice fly scored Wright, and after a Marlon Anderson groundout, a base hit by Lastings Milledge plated Delgado for a 2-0 edge.

Wright doubled the lead with a two-run homer in the third, but the Dodgers cut it to 4-1 in the home half when Penny doubled and came home on Pierre's two-out single.

Los Angeles then rallied to take the lead in the fourth. James Loney and Wilson Betemit ripped consecutive one-out singles, and Ethier's base hit cut it to 4-2. Kemp then deposited a hanging breaking ball into the left field stands for a three-run homer, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.

Rafael Furcal kept the inning alive with a two-out, ground-rule double, and Pierre followed with a two-bagger just inside the line at third to make it 6-4.

Russell Martin's fielder's choice grounder in the sixth resulted in a pair of unearned runs for an 8-4 margin. With the bases loaded and one out, Martin hit a grounder to third, and, without a play at the plate, Wright fired to second. The out was recorded, but Ruben Gotay was then charged with a throwing error trying to cut down Furcal at the plate.

Beltran's two-run homer in the eighth cut it to 8-6, but the Mets were shut down the rest of the way by Jonathan Broxton, who struck out Wright and Delgado to end the inning.

Broxton also pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.

Game Notes

Penny is the first Dodgers starter to win seven consecutive decisions since Kevin Brown won nine straight from April 29 to June 17, 2003...The Mets placed second baseman Jose Valentin on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right tibia and recalled infielder Anderson Hernandez from Triple-A New Orleans...Wright's home run was his first career long-ball against the Dodgers.

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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

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Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA		 4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich		 9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson		 5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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