Cards seek to gain further ground on first-place Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright tries once again to become the National League's first 18-game winner when the St. Louis Cardinals continue their three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds today at Busch Stadium.

Like his team, Wainwright has hit the skids as of late, losing three straight starts for the first time in his career while allowing 11 runs in 19 innings of those outings to raise his earned run average to a still-impressive 2.30.

Wainwright's last loss came in Washington on Sunday, as he allowed four runs and six hits in five innings to fall to 17-9 on the year.

"It definitely stings more when you know your team needs wins and you pitch like that," Wainwright said after that game. "I'm pretty ticked about that. I try to be the stopper, not the guy that continues the losing."

Wainwright's last win came at the expense of the Reds back on August 11, when he tossed seven scoreless innings. He is 3-3 lifetime against them with a 4.01 ERA in 12 games, seven of which have been starts.

The 29-year-old right-hander has been dominant at home this season, having posted an 11-1 mark with a 1.42 ERA in 13 starts.

St. Louis picked up a game on the NL Central-leading Reds in the opener of this set on Friday, as Jaime Garcia kept an unbeaten streak against Cincinnati intact with 6 2/3 effective innings and Jon Jay set the tone with a first- inning RBI triple and run scored in the Cardinals' 3-2 win.

Garcia (13-6) won his fourth start in as many tries versus the Reds this season by limiting surging Cincinnati to six hits and two runs while striking out six.

"It's a big win for us, no matter who we were playing," Garcia said. "I see it now a little bit different, that it's a big win against them. But before the game I was just trying to treat it like any team. Just go out there and don't try to do too much."

Ryan Franklin picked up his 23rd save with a spotless ninth to give the Cardinals their fifth straight win against the Reds. Skip Schumaker collected two hits and an RBI in the much-needed win that snapped St. Louis' season-high five-game skid.

The last time these two teams met the Cardinals earned a three-game sweep that gave them sole possession of first place in the division. Since then Cincinnati had won 14 of 18 while the Cards went 5-13 prior to Friday's result, which cut the Reds' lead in the division to seven games.

Bronson Arroyo (14-9) suffered the loss for giving up three runs and six hits in six innings. Paul Janish provided a solo home run in the loss that stunted the Reds' four-game win streak.

"There's not as much pressure, but tonight would have taken a lot of pressure off of us if we had got one tonight," said Arroyo after the game. "Now we know we have to grind it now just to get one [win]. We've got the two best pitchers in the National League going [against us] the next two days. Tonight was huge. We've got two games left, anything can happen."

Cincinnati will turn to rookie left-hander Travis Wood, who is 4-2 with a 3.53 ERA, for today's contest. Wood did not get a decision on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, as he allowed three runs and 10 hits in five innings of his team's 7-5 win.

Wood has never faced the Cards.

The Cardinals have won 11 of 16 games versus the Reds this year.

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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

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NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.

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.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

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.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
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.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

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.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.