Rockies to open homestand with last-place Diamondbacks
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies are back home after a lengthy road trip and will open a three-game series tonight against the National League West-rival Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field.
Colorado went 5-4 on a nine-game road swing through Anaheim, Oakland and Los Angeles and dropped two of three matchups with the Dodgers, including Wednesday's 1-0 loss behind Rafael Furcal's pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning off Rockies starter Jason Hammel. Hammel pitched brilliantly, allowing only that one run on five hits with five strikeouts through eight innings.
"(Furcal) hit a good pitch," Hammel said. "You have to tip your hat to him -- their bullpen did a good job. It was a good game."
Brad Hawpe had two hits and Ian Stewart recorded the other one for Colorado, which is one game off the NL Wild Card lead and will kick off a 10-game homestand versus Arizona, Washington and Atlanta on Friday. The Rockies have won five straight and eight of their last nine games at Coors Field.
Jorge De La Rose will try to keep the home winning streak intact when he toes the rubber for Colorado tonight. De La Rosa has won two straight and four of his last five starts and is coming off an 11-9 victory at Oakland on Saturday. He held the Athletics to two runs and five hits in six innings, while striking out five batters and walking two.
De La Rosa improved to 4-7 in 15 2009 starts and lowered his earned run average from 5.85 to 5.64. The lefty, who is only 1-5 in seven home starts this season, will take on Arizona for the second time in 2009. De La Rosa was the hard-luck loser in an April 22 with the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, where he allowed just two runs over 6 2/3 frames of a 2-0 setback.
He is 1-2 with a 2.57 ERA through eight career appearances (4 starts) against the Diamondbacks.
Arizona has been playing poorly the past month and has lost two straight, seven of eight and 16 of the past 22 games. The D-Backs just lost the last two contests of a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, including Thursday's 3-2 defeat in 12 innings.
Mark Reynolds homered and Chad Tracy knocked in the other run for Arizona, which got a decent start from Doug Davis. The left-hander threw seven innings of one-run ball and gave up seven hits with five strikeouts and four walks in the no-decision. Clay Zavada was saddled with the loss for giving up an RBI single to Joey Votto in the bottom of the 10th inning.
"We didn't find a way to get the last piece," D-Backs manager A.J. Hinch said after the tough loss. "It's a bad feeling to not be able to win close games and we're playing a lot of them."
Max Scherzer will try to reverse Arizona's fortunes tonight on the Colorado mound. Scherzer was 3-0 in four starts before losing his latest outing on Sunday versus the Angels at Chase Field, where he yielded eight runs -- three earned -- on four hits in just 4 1/3 innings.
The righty fell to 5-5 in 15 starts this season and watched his ERA rise from 3.53 to 3.67. Scherzer lost his only appearance against Colorado on September 19 of last season at Coors Field, as he gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings of a 3-2 loss. He struck out eight and walked one batter.
The 2009 season series between Arizona and Colorado is tied at three games apiece, with all six games played in Phoenix. The D-Backs went 15-3 against the Rockies last season, including a 7-2 mark in Denver.
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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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