Mariners rally in eighth inning to shock Tigers

Baseball Betting Lines

05/26/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Wilson capped a four-run rally in the eighth inning with a two-run single for the Mariners, who stormed back to capture a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers, sweeping a two-game set at Safeco Field.

Mike Sweeney, Seattle's hottest hitter, began the comeback with a two-run homer in the eighth, finishing the game with a pair of hits in four at-bats. Sweeney, who has failed to play more than 74 games in any of the previous four seasons, has raised his average from .172 to .309 while adding six homers and 14 RBI since May 8 (11 games).

Michael Saunders also drove in a run for Seattle, which has had nine of its last 13 games decided by one run (5-8). Jason Vargas had a streak of seven consecutive quality starts snapped after allowing two runs in only five frames, but Brandon League (4-4) threw 2 1/3 scoreless frames -- allowing only an inherited runner to score -- to earn the victory.

David Aardsma earned his 11th save with a perfect ninth.

Jeremy Bonderman had another excellent start go to waste for the Tigers, yielding just an unearned run on five hits and two walks while fanning six in seven frames. Bonderman has been excellent in May and in five games -- four starts -- has allowed just four earned runs in 27 innings pitched.

Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run homer among three hits, while Austin Jackson went 2-for-5 with an RBI for the Tigers, who have lost four of five. Ryan Perry (1-3) was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs while recording just one out.

Trailing by three entering the eighth, Seattle rallied for four runs off the Detroit bullpen to surge in front.

Perry came in to pitch after Bonderman's strong start and allowed a leadoff single to Franklin Gutierrez. Two batters later, Sweeney hammered the ball over the left-field fence to cut the Mariners' deficit to 4-3.

Jose Lopez kept the rally going with a single, and Rob Johnson sent a double off the left-field wall to move Lopez to third. Wilson put Seattle ahead with a single into shallow left-center, plating both runners for a 5-4 game.

Aardsma came on to finish the game in the ninth and retired Detroit in order to polish off the win.

The Mariners took advantage of an error to grab the lead in the second inning.

Josh Bard hit a swinging bunt that went to the right of the pitcher's mound with one out. Bonderman had trouble grabbing it and fired wildly toward first, and the ball sailed to the wall in foul territory in right field. Bard advanced to second but came up lame and was replaced by Johnson.

Wilson followed with a single to left to advance Johnson to third, and Saunders blooped an RBI base hit to shallow left for a 1-0 lead.

Detroit answered quickly, however. In the third, Johnny Damon worked a one-out walk, and Ordonez crushed a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left for a 2-1 Tigers advantage.

The Tigers increased their lead in the sixth thanks to a Seattle error. Ryan Rowland-Smith began the inning and retired the first two batters, but Danny Worth reached base on an error by the third baseman Lopez. Adam Everett followed with a double down the left field line, allowing Worth to score for a 3-1 contest.

League came in for the M's and yielded an RBI single to Jackson for a three- run game.

Game Notes

Seattle leads the season series, 4-1...Bonderman has also been solid in day games, going 2-0 in five games -- four starts -- while allowing just three earned runs in 25 innings pitched...Sweeney now has 899 career RBI...Seattle is 15-7 when scoring four runs or more...Detroit was without first baseman Miguel Cabrera for the second straight game to be with his wife, who is having a child...Seattle has hit 18 home runs in the last 16 games after hitting only 10 in its first 30 contests.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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