Molina, Cardinals defeat Nats in rain-soaked affair

Baseball Betting Lines

06/04/2008 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yadier Molina blasted a three-run homer in the first inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Washington, 6-1, in a game that was delayed over 2 1/2 hours by rain at Nationals Park.

Kyle Lohse (6-2) won his third consecutive start, allowing four hits and a run over five innings.

Ryan Ludwick doubled twice, drove in a run and scored once for the Cardinals, winners in five of their last seven games. However, the victory was tempered by an injury to Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. He left in the fourth inning due to tightness in his left calf.

Ryan Langerhans drove in the lone run for the Nationals, losers in six of their last eight contests.

Odalis Perez (2-5) was lifted after three innings and suffered the loss, as he was charged with five hits and four runs, but just one earned.

The Cardinals scored four times in the opening inning, helped by a pair of errors. Brian Barton was hit by a pitch to start the game, and with one out Pujols hit a ball back to Perez. However, second baseman Felipe Lopez dropped the ball at second.

Ludwick followed with a line hit to left field and the ball skipped by Langerhans on the wet grass for a 1-0 lead. After Troy Glaus grounded out, Molina homered to left-center field.

Pujols, along with the rest of the Cardinals and Nationals had to wait out a rain delay of 1 hour, 51 minutes in the top of the fourth inning. Cesar Izturis doubled to start the frame and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt before the rains came.

Pujols, the second batter after the delay, was hit by a pitch from Jesus Colome and was then replaced by pinch-runner Rick Ankiel. The Cardinals then executed a double-steal with Izturis taking home.

Lohse singled in Glaus in the fifth, an inning that featured a 49-minute delay.

Langerhans' groundout plated Jesus Flores in the bottom half of the fifth, but the Nationals failed to mount an offensive attack the rest of the night in the opener of the three-game series.

Game Notes

This was the opener of a nine-game road trip for the Cardinals, who are 4-0 against the Nationals this year...Perez fell to 3-6 lifetime against St. Louis...The Nationals placed third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list with a labral tear in his left shoulder.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

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According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

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Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

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Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

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