Lohse hoping to pitch Cardinals past Brewers
Baseball Betting Lines
09/07/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though the St. Louis Cardinals appear to be loaded at the
top of their pitching rotation, the back end could use some work.
Kyle Lohse gets a chance to claim his rotation spot this evening, when St.
Louis tries to gain more ground in the National League Central with the second
contest of a three-game series versus the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
The Cardinals' top three starters of Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and
Jaime Garcia have combined to notch 45 wins, but closer Ryan Franklin ranks
fourth on the club with six victories. Jake Westbrook, Jeff Suppan and Lohse
have just four victories between the three of them.
Lohse, a 15-game winner in 2008 with St. Louis, is just 2-6 with a 7.12 earned
run average in 12 starts this year and will pitch tonight on nine days' rest
after getting drilled for eight runs on 11 hits over five innings in an Aug.
28 loss in Washington.
Still, manager Tony La Russa won't hesitate in giving the start to Lohse
tonight.
"Kyle gets the ball Tuesday because I think there's an anticipation he's got
the best chance to get us a [win]," he told St. Louis' website. "And then that
spot comes again [next] Sunday. So it's an opportunity for him to justify the
confidence."
The 31-year-old righty's first start of the season came in Milwaukee on April
9, and he got a no-decision after yielding four runs over six innings. He is
3-5 with a 5.24 ERA versus the Brewers lifetime.
Lohse will try to keep the Cardinals' momentum going after they picked up
their third victory in four games following a five-game slide with Monday's
8-6 triumph over Milwaukee.
The Cardinals snapped a 2-2 tie with six runs in the eighth inning,
highlighted by Yadier Molina's second career grand slam. Westbrook gave up two
runs over a six-inning start and Mitchell Boggs got the win in relief.
The victory pulled St. Louis to within six games of first-place Cincinnati.
"It was a great win," said La Russa. "[The Brewers] are a tough club to play
here because of all that power. We got touched up at the end, but everybody
got the outs that they needed."
Corey Hart hit a pair of homers and Rickie Weeks added a solo shot for
Milwaukee, which has lost six of its last seven.
Yovani Gallardo threw seven innings for the Brewers and was charged with two
runs on four hits. Zach Braddock was tagged with the loss in relief.
"Gallardo threw the ball very well and gave us the innings that we needed,"
said Milwaukee manager Ken Macha. "It was a big night for Corey with the two
home runs. We just didn't get the bullpen help we needed."
The Brewers send Chris Narveson to the hill tonight, and the left-hander has
allowed three earned runs or less in each of his last seven starts. He has
also given up just three runs in his last two outings, including a no-decision
in Cincinnati on Wednesday in which he allowed a run on two hits and two walks
over 6 1/3 innings.
Narveson is 10-7 with a 5.33 ERA in 32 games (23 starts) this year and 0-1
with a 4.30 ERA lifetime against the Cardinals. That loss came in his last
matchup with them, which took place on July 2 in St. Louis, and he was charged
with four runs over five innings.
<< Week One Highlights
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Could the 2010 college football season
gotten off to a better start? It began with some of the nation's top teams
flexing their muscles. There were shootouts, defensive struggles and thrilling
overtime affair
<< Rockies hope to stay hot versus Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have put together a couple of strong
Septembers over the past few years. They've been even more successful in
recent meetings with the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.
Colorado shoots for an eighth cons
<< Padres try to string back-to-back wins together against LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After finally being able to end a potentially-costly 10-
game skid on Monday, the San Diego Padres will try to start up a winning
streak behind their best pitcher when the National League West leaders resume
a three-game seri
<< Braves seek to bounce back in second test with Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta's offense has been mostly shut down during its
current stretch of four losses in five games. That is exactly what starter Tim
Hudson has done to Pittsburgh over the last few years, though.
Hudson looks to extend a
<< Giants eye first place as they continue series in Arizona
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -Runs were hard to come by in Monday's opener of a three-
game series between the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks, and
another pitcher's duel could be in the works when the two National League West
foes square off
Rookies to go head-to-head in Mets-Nationals clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the Washington Nationals already looking ahead to next
year -- and maybe even 2012 given Stephen Strasburg's need for Tommy John
surgery -- a couple of young players are looking to show the team they can
contribute.
Twins continue set with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Capturing a second straight American League Central title
may be the Minnesota Twins' main objective, but judging by the team's
performance at Target Field this season, having home-field advantage for the
opening round of the
2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 7th >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Halftime - Lithuania 43, China 40
Argentina vs. Brazil, 2 p.m.
The Real Deal on the AL Cy Young Race >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With 28 days left in the regular season, the
American League Cy Young award is still up for grabs. It seems the New York
Yankees' CC Sabathia is considered the leading candidate, although I think
there's another
Illini lineman suspended after DUI arrest >>
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -Illinois has indefinitely suspended defensive lineman Michael Buchanan after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving over the weekend.Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz said Tuesday that Illinois State Police
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
NFL Football Betting Online
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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