Pirates blank Cubs, complete rare winning mark in June
Baseball Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddy Sanchez doubled and knocked in two runs, and Ross Ohlendorf tossed seven shutout innings, as the Pittsburgh Pirates got by the Chicago Cubs, 3-0, in the second of a three-game set at PNC Park.
Brandon Moss finished 2-for-4 for Pittsburgh, which recovered from a 3-1 setback in the series opener on Monday. The Pirates have won five of seven overall.
Ohlendorf (7-6) was sensational, giving up only four hits and striking out a career-high eight batters without issuing a walk. Matt Capps picked up his 18th save of the season after pitching a hitless ninth inning.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Pirates traded outfielder Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees for minor league pitcher Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer. Pittsburgh then shipped outfielder Nyjer Morgan and left-handed pitcher Sean Burnett to Washington for outfielder Lastings Milledge and right-hander Joel Hanrahan. The club also recalled outfielder Garrett Jones from Triple-A Indianapolis.
The victory gave the Pirates a 14-13 mark for the month, their first winning record in June since going 15-12 in 1996.
Geovany Soto had a pair of hits for the Cubs, who have dropped three of four and seven of nine.
Ted Lilly (7-6) was the hard-luck loser after throwing seven innings. The veteran lefty allowed three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits, while striking out seven. He also walked a pair.
Sanchez led off the fourth inning with a single and Andy LaRoche served a base hit into left three batters later to put runners on first and second. Moss then struck out swinging, but a wild pitch allowed a hustling Sanchez to come into score after Lilly was unable to handle a toss from catcher Soto.
Sanchez's RBI single in the fifth brought in Jack Wilson, who reached on a bunt single and took second on a sacrifice bunt by Ohlendorf to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
Pittsburgh tacked on another run in the seventh when pinch-hitter Steve Pearce doubled down the left-field line and crossed the plate on Sanchez's two-bagger to center.
John Grabow pitched out of a Cubs' eighth inning threat, retiring Derrek Lee on a ground ball after Chicago put runners on second and third. Capps came on for the ninth and issued a two-out walk to Soto, but got Mike Fontenot to fly out to left to end the game.
Game Notes
Cubs reliever Jeff Samardzija was recalled from Triple-A Iowa earlier on Tuesday and pitched a scoreless eighth inning...Chicago finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven, while the Pirates went 2-for-9 with RISP and left seven...Despite the loss, the Cubs have won 20 of the last 26 meetings.
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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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