Lackey, Angels blank Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

05/17/2007 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lackey tossed four-hit ball over six innings and combined with a pair of relievers to lead the LA Angels of Anaheim to a shutout of the Seattle Mariners, 5-0, in the middle game of a three-game series at Safeco Field.

Lackey (6-3) walked a batter and struck out four as the Angels evened the series at a game apiece. Dustin Moseley hurled two scoreless frames and Scot Shields pitched the ninth.

Orlando Cabrera had two hits and two runs batted in, while Reggie Willits went 2-for-5 with an RBI for the Angels, who are now 12-3 in their last 15 games against the Mariners.

Cha Seung Baek (1-1) allowed three runs on six hits, with a walk and three strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Ichiro Suzuki had a pair of hits, and his stolen base in the first inning was his 45th consecutive successful attempt, extending his own American League record. He is just five short of the Major League mark held by Vince Coleman.

The Angels put a pair on the board in their first trip to the plate. Willits ripped a leadoff double to right-center, and Vladimir Guerrero drew a one-out walk. Willits advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Gary Matthews' single, while Casey Kotchman's base hit scored Guerrero to make it 2-0.

Seattle had just two hits heading into the sixth, then squandered a chance to cut into the lead. Jose Lopez and Suzuki hit back-to-back singles, while Jose Vidro's groundout moved both runners. Lackey intentionally walked Raul Ibanez, loading the bases, before Richie Sexson grounded into a force. Chone Figgins made a nice play on the high hopper at third, coming home with the throw, and Jose Guillen went down swinging to end the inning.

The Angels added three more in the seventh to extend their lead. Figgins walked and a Willits' single scored Mike Napoli, who had reached on a fielder's choice. Chris Reitsma came out of the pen for Seattle and both runners initiated a double steal before scoring on Cabrera's bouncer that snuck through on the left side.

Game Notes

Baek was called to fill in when Seattle ace Felix Hernandez landed on the disabled list. Hernandez returned on Tuesday, but Baek remains in the rotation, now filling in for injured right-hander Jeff Weaver...Before he was called up from Triple-A Tacoma on April 21, Baek was 1-0 with a 2.55 ERA in three starts with the Rainiers...Lackey is 7-8 lifetime against Seattle in 19 starts...The Angels have outscored their opposition 43-15 in the first inning...Suzuki has a nine-game hitting streak for the Mariners.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.