08/20/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Todd Wellemeyer goes for an eighth start without a loss tonight when the St. Louis Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second and final game of an abbreviated two-game set at Busch Stadium.
Wellemeyer, who'll turn 30 on August 30, was coming off a two-start skid when he last faced the Pirates on July 12, allowing four hits and four runs en route to a no-decision in 6 1/3 innings of the Cardinals' 12-11 loss.
He's 3-0 in six starts since, allowing 31 hits and 13 runs in 37 2/3 innings.
He allowed three hits in 7 2/3 scoreless frames in his last outing, a 3-0 defeat of the Florida Marlins in Miami.
Wellemeyer is 3-1 in 16 lifetime matchups - five starts - against the Pirates with a 3.40 earned run average.
Tennessee-born righty Jason Davis looks for his first 2008 win as a starter with the Pirates.
The 28-year-old, who split 2007 between Cleveland and Seattle, began this year with four bullpen appearances for Pittsburgh before an Aug. 10 start at Philadelphia.
Davis allowed four hits and a pair of unearned runs over six innings in that game, won by the Phillies, 6-3.
He followed up with a seven-inning outing in which he allowed six hits and two runs in a 2-1 loss to the New York Mets.
Overall, in six games, he's given up just 16 hits and four earned runs in 20 innings.
He has never faced the Cardinals.
On Tuesday, Ian Snell mastered the Cardinal bats for seven shutout innings and Ryan Doumit had three hits and an RBI, as Pittsburgh took the opener, 4-1.
Snell (5-10) scattered four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts, breaking out of a rough stretch in which the right-hander had just one win in his last 10 starts.
Braden Looper (11-10) pitched well enough to win but was victimized by a suspect bullpen performance, allowing only one run on three hits with a pair of walks and as many strikeouts over seven frames.
He did continue an impressive streak in which the right-hander has allowed three runs or less in each of his last six starts.
Pittsburgh has won seven of its 13 meetings with the Cards this season.
<< Royals, Indians resume three-game series in Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Zach Jackson makes his second appearance in a
Cleveland uniform tonight when the Indians take on the visiting Kansas City
Royals in the second of three midweek games at Progressive Field.
Jackson, a supplemental 2004
<< Red Wings re-sign Downey
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings re-signed forward Aaron
Downey to a one-year, two-way undisclosed contract Wednesday.
Downey signed with Detroit last season following a training camp tryout and
appeared in 56 game
<< Cards' Isringhausen shut down with elbow tendonitis
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jason
Isringhausen has been shut down indefinitely after an MRI exam Tuesday
revealed tendonitis in his right elbow and a partial tendon tear in his flexor
group.
<< Stewart, Hawpe power Rockies past Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Stewart hit a three-run homer and
finished with a career-high five RBI while Brad Hawpe continued his recent
strong offensive play with a two-run homer, as the Colorado Rockies defeated
the Lo
Tigers shoot for another sweep of Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers will try to complete their second
consecutive three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers, as the two teams conclude
their set tonight in Arlington.
Detroit has won all five of its meetings with Te
Liriano leads Twins in finale vs. Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francisco Liriano is not the same pitcher who faced the
Athletics in April. Back to his old form, Liriano will try to lead the
Minnesota Twins to a victory against Oakland this afternoon in the rubber
match o
Phils send Myers to hill in second test with Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Myers' season turnaround began with a victory over
Washington almost a month ago. The Philadelphia Phillies hurler will try to
continue his resurgence against the Nationals tonight, and hand them their
12th s
White Sox try to finish off home sweep of Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League Central division-leading Chicago White
Sox will shoot for their fifth straight win and a three-game sweep of the
Seattle Mariners this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.
Chicago remained one game
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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