Cards hope to revive postseason hopes in opener with Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time the Cardinals faced the Reds, they completed a three-game sweep that gave them sole possession of first place in the National League Central.

The teams have drastically gone in opposite directions since.

First-place Cincinnati will try to extend its eight-game lead over second- place St. Louis this evening in the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium that by the end could put the division crown out of reach for the hosts.

The Cardinals have won four straight and 10 of 15 versus the Reds this year and they posted a three-game sweep in the last meeting from Aug. 8-11 -- a series that featured a benches-clearing brawl thanks to some unkind words towards St. Louis by Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips -- to take a one-game edge for the top spot in the division.

"They silenced our bats a little bit and we didn't pitch that great," Reds starter Bronson Arroyo said after the sweep. "It's not even close to being over. We have plenty of games left."

The Reds have made the most of their games since the series, winning 14 of 18, while the Cardinals have gone 5-13 and have matched a season high with five straight losses to give the Reds their largest division lead of the season.

Arroyo lost the finale of that sweep but gets the first chance at extending his team's current division lead. The right-hander yielded four runs over five innings back on Aug. 11 to fall to 1-2 with a 4.78 earned run average in four starts this year versus the Cardinals. That includes an outing at Busch Stadium on May 31 when he was drilled for seven runs over 4 1/3 frames.

Arroyo has a 2.61 ERA over his last seven starts though and is 14-8 with a 3.82 ERA on the season. The 33-year-old is coming off just his second loss in six starts (4-2) as he gave up three runs on five hits over seven innings against the Cubs on Saturday.

While Arroyo has had his troubles with the Cardinals this year, St. Louis rookie Jaime Garcia has won all three of his starts in 2010 against the Reds with a 4.08 ERA. His latest win in the series came on Aug. 10 despite giving up four runs on two hits and five walks over 5 1/3 innings.

Garcia, though, hasn't allowed an earned run in 20 1/3 consecutive innings, fanning 19 in that span. His run began in a loss to the Brewers on Aug. 17 in which he was touched for three unearned runs over six innings.

The 24-year-old southpaw responded with his first career shutout, a three- hitter versus the Giants on Aug. 22 and then won his second straight start last Friday after posting 5 1/3 scoreless innings in Washington while working around eight hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.

Garcia is 12-6 with a 2.33 ERA this year and sports a 1.55 ERA in 12 starts at home. He'll be looking tonight to halt a four-game winning streak by the Reds, a burst that includes a three-game sweep of the Brewers.

Cincinnati wrapped the series with Wednesday's 6-1 victory, scoring all of its runs in the seventh inning. Ryan Hanigan blasted a three-run homer in the frame, while Scott Rolen capped the burst with a two-run single.

The victory also featured the first win of Aroldis Chapman's major league career. The 22-year-old Cuban lefty has yet to allow a hit over his two appearances, striking out three over two inning while unleashing a fastball that has gone over 100 mph.

Fans would be in for a treat if Chapman faces the Cardinals' Albert Pujols, who is hitting .358 (19-for-53) in 15 games this year against the Reds with three homers and 14 RBI. However, Pujols went hitless in 10 at-bats in St. Louis' three-game sweep at the hands of Houston.

The Cardinals were bested, 5-2, in Wednesday's finale. Matt Holliday drilled a two-run homer as St. Louis wrapped a 10-game road trip 2-8.

"We have to play better, obviously, but you just have to focus on the next game," Holliday said. "Sometimes if you get out and look at the big picture instead of focusing on the job at hand, you lose focus."

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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

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