05/15/2008 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Harris made a spectacular diving catch in left field to rob the Mets of a potential tying run in the ninth inning, and the Nationals doubled Carlos Beltran off third base to end the game to hold on for a 1-0 victory at Shea Stadium.
Felipe Lopez hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth, an inning after the Nationals broke up Mike Pelfrey's no-hit bid, as Washington won three of the four games in the series.
Jason Bergmann (1-1) struck out nine over seven innings to get the victory. He allowed three hits and walked two. Jon Rauch threw the eventful ninth inning for his ninth save.
Pelfrey (2-4) was charged with three hits and the run over 7 2/3 innings for the Mets, who have never had a no-hitter in their history. He walked three and struck out four.
Luis Castillo had two of the five hits for the Mets, losers of two in a row.
Jesus Flores doubled to left-center field to star the Washington eighth. Harris then pinch hit and put down a sacrifice bunt before Lopez lofted his sacrifice fly to left field.
Beltran started the ninth with a single to right field. Ryan Church then sent a fly ball toward the left field line, but Harris dove to make a back-handed grab. Beltran then stole second and eased into third when catcher Flores threw the ball into center field.
With Washington's infield playing in, Carlos Delgado hit a low line drive to Aaron Boone at first base. Beltran scooted off third though, and Boone's throw across the diamond was in plenty of time for the game-ending double play.
Boone, who had two hits, broke up Pelfrey's no-hitter with a line single to right to start the seventh.
The Mets had runners at the corners in the third, but Beltran flied out to end the threat. They had two runners on again in the fifth, but David Wright popped up for the third out.
Game Notes
Pelfrey has allowed two runs or less in four of his of his five home starts this season...The Nationals start a three-game series at Baltimore on Friday, while the Mets play the Yankees in the Bronx.
<< Federer, Nadal, Djokovic ease into Hamburg QFs
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The world's top-three stars --
Swiss Roger Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic -- were
all straight-set third-round winners Thursday at the $2.955 million
Masters
<< Shoulder injury to sideline Cavs' Gibson
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson will
miss the next 1-2 weeks of action due to a shoulder injury, possibly keeping
him out the remainder of the playoffs.
Gibson left Wednesday's 96-89 loss at Bost
<< Queen Justine bids farewell
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of tennis' greatest champions abruptly
called it a career this week, as Justine Henin decided she'd had enough of the
tennis lifestyle at only 25 years of age.
Much like Bjorn Borg in the early 1980s,
<< Coburn, Roberts out for Game 4
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia defenseman Braydon Coburn and
Pittsburgh forward Gary Roberts will miss tonight's Game 4 of the Eastern
Conference finals at the Wachovia Center.
Coburn took a puck to the face early
Celtic legend Burns dies at 51 >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic legend Tommy Burns, 51, died on
Thursday morning after losing his long battle with cancer.
The former Scotland international, who played more than 400 games for Celtic
between 1975 and 1989, h
United's Ferdinand officially signs five-year deal >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United defender Rio
Ferdinand has finally signed a new five-year contract which will effectively
keep him at Old Trafford for the rest of his career.
The 29-year-old England inte
Rockies' Cook, Francis on opposite ends >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook is responsible
for 40 percent of his team's wins this season. Now raise your hand if you
thought that would be the circumstance by mid-May.
If you did raise your hand then
Energie signs coach Prasnikar to extension >>
Cottbus, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Energie Cottbus coach Bojan Prasnikar has
signed a new contract running until the summer of 2010 after guiding the club
to Bundesliga survival.
The Slovenian was drafted in by Cottbus in September to ta
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
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