Pinch power: Francisco's HR lifts Phils over Cards in Game 3
Baseball Betting Lines
10/04/2011 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Francisco's pinch-hit, seventh-inning three-run home run snapped a scoreless contest and Ryan Madson recorded the final five outs, as the Philadelphia Phillies claimed a narrow 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of this NL Division Series from Busch Stadium.
Jimmy Rollins collected a pair of hits for the Phillies, who took a 2-1 edge in the best-of-five set.
Cole Hamels (1-0) worked six scoreless innings, allowed five hits and walked three, but despite fanning eight, labored at times thanks to throwing 117 pitches.
Madson came on to diffuse a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the eighth by inducing an inning-ending double-play ball off the bat of Allen Craig. He served up a two-out RBI single to Yadier Molina in the ninth, but recovered to retire Ryan Theriot on a grounder to second to earn his first save of this postseason.
Albert Pujols finished 4-for-5 with three doubles, and David Freese knocked in a run for the Cardinals, who are one loss from elimination after stranding 14 runners.
Jaime Garcia (0-1) was tagged in defeat for three runs on six hits over seven full frames.
Philadelphia has its first chance to advance to its fourth straight NLCS in Game 4, set for Wednesday evening.
Shane Victorino began the Philadelphia seventh with a line single to center, then advanced on a passed ball. Garcia retired the next two batters, but Carlos Ruiz was intentionally walked for pinch-hitter Francisco, who managed to power a ball just over the wall in left center for a 3-0 advantage.
"I knew that I was probably going to be pinch-hitting against a lefty. He left one over the plate and I hit it out," said Francisco, who played sparingly in the final two months.
Rollins followed with a double over the head of Jon Jay in center and stole third, but Chase Utley grounded to second to end the inning.
In the home half, Vance Worley walked Craig with one out and Pujols blooped a single to right, but Lance Berkman grounded into a fielder's choice at second to leave runners on the corners. Freese lined an RBI single to center, before Molina's fly to right kept it 3-1.
The Phillies went quietly in the eighth facing Fernando Salas and Ryan Theriot began the home half with a bloop hit to right. Antonio Bastardo subbed for Worley and retired pinch-hitter Nick Punto on a fly to center, then Brad Lidge came on to give up singles to pinch-hitter Matt Holliday and Rafael Furcal which loaded the bases.
Madson was summoned, and needed only two pitches to work out of trouble. Utley fielded Craig's grounder, raced to second and threw to first in plenty of time for the final out.
Placido Polanco singled with one out in the ninth, then Ruiz hit a sinking liner to center which defensive-replacement Skip Schumaker dove for. The initial ruling was a hit, but a brief conversation between umpires reversed the call. Replays also clearly indicated the ball did not hit the ground before settling into the St. Louis outfielder's glove. Madson ended the inning by going down swinging.
Pujols started the home portion with his third double of the contest, but Berkman flied to center. Freese grounded weakly to second and Pujols moved to third, scoring when Molina dumped a hit to center to make it 3-2.
Theriot, who also collected four hits on Tuesday, grounded to second to end the contest.
In the bottom of the first, Hamels allowed a two-out double to Pujols and hit Berkman, and despite both men reaching scoring position thanks to a double steal, Freese fanned swinging to end the threat.
Molina narrowly missed hitting a long solo homer to left to lead off the second and the Cards went quietly in the frame.
Utley's grounder to first stranded a pair of runners in the third, and St. Louis failed to push a run across with two on in the fourth.
The Cards again put two on with two outs in the sixth, but Hamels ended his outing by striking out Garcia.
Game Notes
Francisco connected for his first homer since May 25 against Cincinnati...Hamels improved to 7-4 with a 3.09 earned run average in his playoff career...Rollins upped his 2011 postseason totals to 7-for-11 with three doubles and five runs scored...Pujols and Theriot's four-hit performances marked the 11th and 12th times in Cardinals postseason history that a player recorded four hits in one game. It was the first time since David Eckstein's four-hit outing in Game 4 of the 2006 World Series against Detroit...Molina extended his postseason hitting streak to 12 games...Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who turned 67 on Tuesday, was fined an undisclosed amount for criticizing the strike zone of home plate umpire Jerry Meals in Sunday's Game 2.
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Nationa
SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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