Astros go for sweep of Pirates
Baseball Betting Lines
07/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros may not have provided Roy Oswalt much run support over the course of this season, but the team has had little trouble generating offense in its battles with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Houston seeks to remain unbeaten against the road-challenged Pirates in 2010 when these two National League Central foes wrap up a three-game series this afternoon at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros have taken the first two tests of this set and moved to 5-0 versus Pittsburgh this season with last night's 6-3 victory. Houston used a rare power display to prevail on Wednesday, with the club slugging a season-high four home runs for the game.
Carlos Lee had a two-run homer and Jeff Keppinger, Lance Berkman and Hunter Pence each delivered solo blasts for Houston, which has amassed a total of 31 runs in its five victories over the Pirates this year.
"It's nice to see our 2-3-4-5 hitters hit those home runs," Astros manager Brad Mills said afterward.
Three of those long balls came off of Pirates starter Daniel McCutchen (1-4), who was reached for four runs in five innings of work.
"He battled but made mistakes that hurt," said Pirates manager John Russell of McCutchen.
Oswalt hopes his teammates can remain swinging hot bats when he takes the ball for today's finale. The Astros have averaged a modest 2.76 runs per game over the ace pitcher's 17 starts, which helps explain the unwanted 5-10 season record Oswalt carries into this matchup. In his last three mound trips, Houston has managed a paltry two runs combined.
The three-time All-Star pitched extremely well this past Friday in San Diego, holding the NL West-leading Padres to three hits and striking out seven over seven shutout innings, but left with the contest still scoreless. Oswalt took a loss in each of his two previous starts and will be searching for his first win since June 16.
The 32-year-old did defeat the Pirates in Pittsburgh back on April 23 by allowing three runs -- two earned -- over seven effective innings and sports a strong 14-7 record with a 2.62 earned run average in 27 career games (26 starts) against the Bucs. Oswalt hasn't fared well at home this season, however, having compiled a poor 1-8 mark with a 3.98 ERA in 10 assignments held at Minute Maid Park.
Houston will be counting on another extended outing from Oswalt, with Brian Moehler forced to leave Wednesday's test after only three shutout innings due to a strained right groin. Casey Daigle (1-1) was credited with the win after recording two scoreless frames in relief.
Wednesday's setback was the 20th in the past 22 road games for Pittsburgh and dropped the team to an awful 11-34 as the visitor this season, the second- worst away mark in the majors. The Pirates have also lost in 13 of their past 16 meetings with the Astros in Houston, as well as eight of the last nine overall encounters between the divisional rivals.
Pittsburgh will turn to Ross Ohlendorf today in an attempt to avoid a sweep, while the big right-hander tries to build off his best effort of the season.
Against Philadelphia this past Friday, Ohlendorf yielded five hits and struck out eight batters over seven shutout innings to notch a long-awaited first win of 2010. The 27-year-old also pitched well in a no-decision five days earlier, limiting Oakland to two unearned runs and just two hits through six frames on June 27.
Prior to those two starts, Ohlendorf had gone 0-6 with a 5.43 over his first 10 appearances of the year.
The Princeton product, an 11-game winner for the Bucs last season, has historically struggled when facing the Astros. Ohlendorf has lost all five of his career starts against Houston and pitched to a lackluster 7.57 ERA in seven lifetime appearances in this series.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A strong finish to their 11-game road trip will have the Cincinnati Reds leading the National League Central heading into the All-Star break. The Philadelphia Phillies, meanwhile, now need to erase their largest defic
<< Marquee pitching matchup highlights finale in Colorado
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The good news for a St. Louis Cardinals team that's been
handed back-to-back stinging defeats to the Colorado Rockies is that it will
have Chris Carpenter on the mound for the finale of this three-game series.
The bad news
<< Giants go for sweep in Brew City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Slowly, the San Francisco Giants are getting themselves
back into contention in the National League West and their solid offensive run
as of late has come at the expense of the sliding Milwaukee Brewers.
Giants hurler
<< Davydenko-Nalbandian to kickoff Davis Cup QF
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko will battle
former top-10 star David Nalbandian in Friday's opening singles rubber of the
Davis Cup quarterfinal between host Russia and Argentina.
The Russian Davydenko a
<< D'Backs vie to end slide in series opener vs. Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A coaching change hasn't helped to spark the Arizona
Diamondbacks, who look to end a five-game slide this evening in the opener of
a four-game series with the visiting Florida Marlins at Chase Field.
The Diamondba
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At just 22 years old, Mat Latos has quickly emerged as the ace of a San Diego staff that's been among the best in baseball this season. The Padres will ask their young standout to play the role of stopper when the National L
Antonio Pierce retires; heads to TV >>
Bristol, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former linebacker Antonio Pierce has decided to
retire and will become an NFL analyst for ESPN.
Pierce spent the past five seasons with the New York Giants and played his
first four years with the Washing
Free agency a bust so far for Kings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles area is home to Venice
Beach, Hollywood and the famous 90210 zip code. The Fresh Prince once called it
home (on television at least), and former Yankee icon Joe Torre made the jump
from the Bi
CFL East Division: Despite loss, Als still team to beat >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Typically, when a team loses, adjustments
are made to account for those failings. And although the Montreal Alouettes had
many of those in their overtime loss to Saskatchewan, they're likely to win a
whole lot
Bucks officially sign Salmons and Gooden >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks made it official on
Thursday and signed guard John Salmons and forward Drew Gooden to multi-year
contracts.
Financial terms were not disclosed. However, the Milwaukee Journal-Se
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.
Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.
Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.
Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.
Arizona 20-1
Butler 20-1
Duke 30-1
Florida 7-2
Georgetown 30-1
Indiana 35-1
Kansas 15-1
Marquette 25-1
Maryland 40-1
Memphis 50-1
Nevada 50-1
UNC 9-2
OSU 8-1
Oregon 30-1
Pittsburgh 15-1
Texas 30-1
Texas A&M 18-1
UCLA 6-1
Wisconsin 10-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.