05/11/2008 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Beltran hit a two-run home run and an RBI double, and the New York Mets downed the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3, in the rubber match at Shea Stadium.
Oliver Perez (3-3) went six innings, holding the Reds to three runs on three hits with eight strikeouts and four walks. Jose Reyes went 3-for-5 and scored twice, and Ryan Church followed Beltran's home run in the fifth with one of his own for the Mets, who have won three of four.
Rookie Johnny Cueto (2-4) continued to struggle to regain the form from his first two starts. Cueto, who fanned 18 and allowed just three runs over his first 13 1/3 innings in the majors, gave up eight hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings, fanning five and walking three.
Jeff Keppinger went 2-for-3 with a run batted in and scored for the Reds, who have split their last six games.
The Mets jumped all over Cueto with three runs in the first. Reyes led off with a single to center and quickly swiped second before coming around to score on Luis Castillo's triple. After David Wright flied out to center, Beltran laced an RBI double to the left-center gap. Moises Alou then capped the frame with a two-out, RBI two-bagger to make it a 3-0 game.
A host of players on both clubs used pink bats in honor of Mother's Day and to help raise funds and awareness for breast cancer, and Beltran appeared comfortable with the pink lumber. The Mets center fielder followed up his RBI double with a long ball, as he ripped a hanging breaking ball into the seats in right, a two-run shot with one out in the fifth.
Cueto then hung another off-speed pitch to Church, who slammed it over the fence in right-center for a 6-0 Mets lead.
The Reds broke through for three against Perez in the sixth. Adam Dunn plated one run with a sacrifice fly, then Keppinger tripled to left-center to score another. A wild pitch by Perez allowed Keppinger to come home, cutting the deficit in half, 6-3.
The Mets answered with two more runs in the sixth, though, on RBI singles by Damion Easley and Wright. The Reds had runners at the corners with one out in the eighth, but Dunn and Keppinger struck out to end the threat.
Game Notes
Perez stole a base in the second inning, his third career stolen base and first since 2006...Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run. Six of Griffey's 597 career home runs were hit on Mother's Day, the most on the holiday among active players...New York's Carlos Delgado, who went 1-for-3 with a walk, needs two home runs to tie Andre Dawson for 35th place on the all-time home run list with 438.
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“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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