Hamels confounds Reds; Griffey once again denied 600

Baseball Betting Lines

06/05/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cole Hamels tossed a three-hitter and denied Ken Griffey Jr. the 600th home run of his career as the Philadelphia Phillies topped the Cincinnati Reds, 5-0, in the finale of their four-game set at Citizens Bank Park.

Hamels (6-4) rebounded from a pair of rough starts to notch his second shutout of the season, striking out four and walking three. Geoff Jenkins clubbed a solo home run for the Phillies, who won three of four in the series and finished off an 8-2 homestand.

Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino each added a run-scoring single in the win.

Griffey, making his first start of the series, went 1-for-4 with a double, but gave the crowd a thrill in his final at-bat. Griffey crushed the first pitch of the ninth inning deep to center, but Victorino tracked the ball down just in front of the wall and Griffey left to a standing ovation from the crowd.

Homer Bailey (0-1) made his season debut after being recalled from Triple-A Louisville before the game and took the loss, allowing five runs -- two earned -- on four hits in 6 1/3 frames while being the victim of lackluster defense.

Paul Janish and Jerry Hairston Jr. collected the other hits for the Reds, both doubles, as Cincinnati fell to 1-3 in the first half of their eight-game road swing.

Bailey retired the first seven batters he faced, before Carlos Ruiz gave the Phils a start with a one-out single in the third. Hamels sacrificed him to second with a walk, and when Jimmy Rollins lofted a weak pop-up to shallow left, Bailey looked to be out of the inning. Janish dropped the routine catch, however, allowing Ruiz to score.

Rollins left the game for undisclosed reasons after the fourth inning and was replaced by Eric Bruntlett.

A pair of errors resulted in two more unearned runs for the Phillies in the fifth.

With one out, Pedro Feliz grounded back to the mound, but Bailey's throw skipped past Joey Votto at first, allowing Feliz to end up at second. After Ruiz walked and Hamels flew out, Bruntlett flared a line drive right at Griffey, who lost track of the ball and had it tick off his glove, bringing Feliz in to score. Victorino then lined an RBI single to right for a 3-0 lead.

Jenkins upped the lead to 4-0 with two outs in the sixth, reaching down and launching a first-pitch change-up from Bailey into the seats in right-center.

A pair of one-out walks to Bruntlett and Victorino in the seventh chased Bailey from the game. Jeremy Affeldt came on in relief and got Chase Utley to fly out, but Howard beat the infield shift with a ground single to left to score Bruntlett.

Hamels walked Votto to start the fourth, but set down the next 13 hitters before Hairston smashed a ground ball for a double with two outs in the eighth. Jay Bruce then laced a grounder to the left side of the infield, but Bruntlett made a diving stab and fired across the diamond to nip Bruce and preserve the shutout.

After Griffey's long out in the ninth, Brandon Phillips reached on a throwing error, but Hamels retired Votto and pinch-hitter Corey Patterson to finish the contest.

Game Notes

Hamels recorded his first career shutout earlier this year, a four-hit blanking of the Atlanta Braves on May 15 at Citizens Bank Park...To make room for Bailey, before the game the Reds optioned pitcher Danny Herrera to Louisville...The Reds finish off their eight-game trip with a four-game series in Florida, starting Friday...The Phillies begin a three-game set in Atlanta on Friday, the opening stretch of a nine-game road trip.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.