Astros vie to extend series win streak over Cubs
Baseball Betting Lines
07/28/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have yet to lose a series to the Chicago Cubs this year. Starting pitcher Bud Norris getting his first victory in well
over two months would keep that stretch going.
Norris and the Astros aim for a fourth series win over the Cubs in as many
tries this year in Wednesday night's finale of a three-game series at Minute
Maid Park.
The Astros have won seven of 11 versus the Cubs in 2010 and evened this series
on Tuesday behind Brett Myers' complete game and a big seventh inning by the
Houston offense that led to a 6-1 triumph.
Myers scattered one run and matched a career high with 12 strikeouts while
going the distance for the first time since Sept. 14, 2008 with Philadelphia,
while Lance Berkman capped a six-run seventh inning with a grand slam.
"Mr. Myers does it again, just an absolute outstanding performance," Houston
manager Brad Mills said after his team improved to 2-3 on a nine-game
homestand. "He just continues to battle. It's fun to watch."
Myers allowed just Tyler Colvin's ninth-inning homer to fall short of the
shutout. The Cubs, who have lost two of three, failed to back Ted Lilly's
scoreless 5 2/3 innings in the start. Reliever Andrew Cashner was charged with
all six Houston runs over 1 1/3 innings of work.
Both Lilly and Myers have been involved in trade rumors leading up to
Saturday's deadline, but Chicago manager Lou Piniella didn't think that
affected his left-hander last night.
"I can tell you it wouldn't bother him," Piniella said. "I rode in with him
from the hotel [Wednesday]. We talked a little bit about his situation. He
wants to stay here, but he understands."
The Astros will hope Norris can notch his first win since May 13, and the
right-hander is 0-3 with a 6.13 earned run average in seven starts since that
outing. He has yielded 13 earned runs over his last three starts, losing
consecutive games before a no-decision versus the Reds on Friday.
The right-hander yielded four runs on four hits and three walks over six
innings in that outing and is 2-7 with a 6.08 ERA on the season.
Norris has yet to win at home this year, having gone 0-4 with a 7.13 ERA in
seven starts, and is making his first career start versus the Cubs this
evening. The 25-year-old did face them in relief a season ago, his first
appearance in the majors, and allowed a run over three frames of work.
After a slow start, Cubs starter Randy Wells has started to put things
together and brings a 14-inning scoreless streak into this outing.
The 27-year-old has hurled consecutive outings of seven innings, getting a no-
decision versus the Phillies on July 17 before besting St. Louis on Friday.
Wells held the Cardinals to five hits and three walks in a 5-0 triumph,
while also striking out seven.
Wells is 5-7 with a 4.07 ERA on the season, but 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA over his
last five starts. He is 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in four career starts versus the
Astros, but did lose in Houston on June 6 after giving up six runs on nine
hits over 5 1/3 innings. The righty yielded a run-scoring single to Berkman
and a two-run homer to Carlos Lee in the first inning to fall behind early.
Wells will look to slow down Astros third baseman Chris Johnson, as the rookie
is hitting .415 (17-for-41) with three homers and nine RBI on an 11-game
hitting streak.
<< White Sox, Buehrle hope to extend home streak versus Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle tries to lead the Chicago White Sox to their
10th straight home win this evening when they resume their four-game series
against the Seattle Mariners at U.S. Cellular Field.
Buehrle has been a big reason behin
<< Blue Jackets re-sign Stralman
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -The Columbus Blue Jackets and defenseman Anton Stralman have agreed on a one-year contract, just minutes before they were to go to arbitration on Wednesday morning.General manager Scott Howson announced the re-signing.Stralman,
<< McCourty comes to terms with Patriots
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots and first-round draft
pick Devin McCourty have agreed to terms of a contract.
McCourty's agent, Andy Simms, posted the news on his Twitter feed Wednesday
morning.
Terms of the
<< Panthers agree to terms with Clausen
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers have reportedly agreed
to terms with rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Clausen has a four-year deal that could
be worth as much as $6.3 million.
T
<< Magic extend Van Gundy
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic have extended the contract of
head coach Stan Van Gundy through the 2012-13 season.
The team also announced Alex Martins has been promoted to team president and
Otis Smith to president of ba
Red Sox turn to Beckett aiming for sweep of Angels >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Beckett makes his second start since returning from
the disabled list this afternoon when the Boston Red Sox try to complete a
three-game sweep against the LA Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium.
Boston, which was swep
Struggling Rockies seek to bring skid to a close against Pirates >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies try to avoid their eighth straight
loss this evening when they play the middle test of their three-game series
with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field.
Following a 2-9 road trip, things didn't get a
Santana, Garcia duel again in Mets-Cards clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia
faced New York Mets ace Johan Santana, the rookie was able to match the two-
time Cy Young Award winner pitch-for-pitch.
He may find that to be more difficult tonight.
Posey puts 20-game hit streak on the line as Giants battle Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Buster Posey tries to extend his 20-game hitting
streak this evening when the San Francisco Giants and Florida Marlins resume
their four-game series at AT&T Park.
San Francisco stayed hot on Tuesday, as Juan Uri
Rangers seeking to extend lead on second-place A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee sure is one tough act to follow.
Colby Lewis will have to do just that tonight as he aims to pitch the Texas
Rangers to a fourth straight victory over the Oakland Athletics in the middle
contest of a three-game s
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.
Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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