Ortiz gets revenge against old team as San Fran downs D-Backs

Baseball Betting Lines

04/21/2007 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russ Ortiz came back to haunt his old club, tossing seven strong innings to lead San Francisco over Arizona, 4-2.

Ortiz struggled tremendously after signing a lucrative four-year contract with the Diamondbacks in 2005, going 0-5 with a 7.54 earned run average in six starts last season before Arizona put him on waivers.

Friday, however, was a different story. Ortiz (2-1) scattered eight hits and two runs for his second straight win for the Giants, who have won the first three games of their five-game homestand.

Barry Bonds went 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Bengie Molina knocked in a pair of runs for San Francisco.

Omar Vizquel singled in the seventh inning to reach 2,480 hits for his career and brake a tie with Cal Ripken Jr. for second-place on the all-time list for a shortstop since 1957.

Things got testy in the ninth as Armando Benitez walked the bases loaded with one out. Benitez, though, got Stephen Drew to ground into a fielder's choice and got Orlando Hudson to ground out for his third save of the season.

Hudson finished 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Diamondbacks, who have lost two in a row and four of their last five.

Doug Davis (1-2) was tagged for seven hits and four runs -- two earned -- in six innings of work.

Arizona struck first as Eric Byrnes led off the game with a double and scored on Hudson's ground-rule double one-out later.

The Giants, however, plated three runs in the bottom of the inning with some help from the Diamondbacks to surge in front. With two outs and nobody on, Rich Aurilia and Bonds hit back-to-back singles. Davis then walked Ray Durham to load the bases before walking Molina to force in a run.

Davis then appeared to get out of the jam when he got Pedro Feliz to pop out in the infield. However, Hudson and Drew collided with each other trying to make the catch as the Giants scored two runs on the error.

Arizona pulled within a run in the third as Drew led off the inning with a single and scored on Hudson's double off the left field wall. Hudson, though, was thrown out trying to reach third on the play and San Francisco got the run in the fifth as Bonds doubled and scored on Molina's two-out single.

Game Notes

San Francisco took the season-series with Arizona last season, 11-8, including a 6-3 mark at home...In the middle contest of this three-game set on Saturday, Edgar Gonzalez will take the mound for the Diamondbacks against the Giants' Barry Zito.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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