Hamilton homers, Rangers hang on to beat Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

06/12/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Smoak hit a two-run double and Josh Hamilton blasted a solo home run, as the Texas Rangers held on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, in the middle portion of a three-game interleague series at Miller Park.

Texas closer Neftali Feliz was called on to protect a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, but Milwaukee loaded the bases with one out. Rickie Weeks lined an RBI single to right, trimming the Brewers' deficit to 4-2, before Chris Ray replaced Feliz on the mound.

Corey Hart plated a run on a fielder's choice, but Prince Fielder flied out to end the game.

Scott Feldman (4-6) navigated his way through six scoreless innings for Texas. The right-hander scattered four hits and walked three while recording six strikeouts.

Ian Kinsler had two hits and scored twice for the Rangers, who have won four of their last five games.

Milwaukee starter Manny Parra (1-4) gave up three runs on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts over six full frames to absorb the loss.

Texas plated a pair in the first inning. Michael Young and Kinsler each stroked one-out singles. After Hamilton was called out on strikes, Smoak ripped a double down the left-field line to give the visitors the early lead.

The Brewers had two on to start the bottom of the first after Feldman hit Weeks with a pitch and walked Hart. Weeks advanced to third on a fielder's choice, but Ryan Braun grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Feldman escaped another jam in the second. A two-out walk to Parra loaded the bases, but Texas' Opening Day starter retired Weeks on a ground ball to second.

The Brewers had a runner on third with one out in the fourth and failed to score. Milwaukee had another man in scoring position in the next inning when Weeks led off with a double. However, the speedy second baseman was thrown out attempting to pilfer third.

Hamilton homered to center field to give Texas a 3-0 lead in the sixth. Parra had retired 11 batters in a row prior to the blast from Hamilton.

David Murphy grounded a single up the middle to score Kinsler in the eighth.

Braun doubled home Weeks in the bottom of the inning.

Game Notes

Young finished 1-for-4 with a walk. He is two hits shy of tying Ivan Rodriguez (1,747) for the most in the franchise history...Hamilton has 14 home runs this season. He also extended his hitting streak to nine games...Weeks' double in the fifth was the 500th hit of his major league career...Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy had three hits...The Rangers placed starting pitcher Rich Harden on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a left gluteal muscle strain and recalled pitcher Alexi Ogando from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

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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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