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07/27/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson could put himself into the record books when the Florida Marlins continue their four-game series with the San Francisco Giants this evening at AT&T Park.
Johnson has gone 13 straight starts without allowing more than two earned runs, a streak dating back to May 8 when he surrendered three runs to the Washington Nationals. The only streak longer was Mike Scott's amazing 14-game run with the Houston Astros in 1986.
"I'm just going out there with the mindset, if something's working, don't change it," Johnson said. "I try to keep my team in the game. I don't know what to tell you. I try not to put any extra pressure on myself. I do what I'm doing in each game."
Johnson lowered his league-leading earned run average to 1.61 Thursday against Colorado but did not get a win, as he allowed a run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He is 10-3 on the season.
However, the Giants have had their way with Johnson, who is 0-3 with a 3.00 ERA in four starts against them.
The Marlins continued to creep up the standings on Monday, as Dan Uggla and Mike Stanton homered to back the strong pitching of Ricky Nolasco in Florida's 4-3 win.
Nolasco (11-7) allowed four hits, a run, walked a batter and had seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings to win for the sixth time in his last seven starts.
"I understood those guys were putting up some really good at-bats, fouling of a lot of good pitches," Nolasco said. "I just wasn't going to give in. Obviously I wanted to keep my pitch count down, but I wasn't able to pitch deeper in the game."
Stanton drove in two and Leo Nunez surrendered a run in the ninth, but left the potential tying tally at third for his 24th save as the Marlins posted their eighth win in 10 games.
Barry Zito (8-6) permitted eight hits and three runs over 6 1/3 innings and suffered his first career loss when facing Florida. Zito, who had been 5-0 in six starts versus the Marlins, had three strikeouts.
Aaron Rowand belted a pinch-hit two-run homer in the seventh inning, but the Giants had a four-game winning streak broken and lost for just the fourth time in their last 19 contests. Buster Posey extended his hitting streak to 19 games, the second-longest by a San Francisco rookie since Hall of Famer Willie McCovey's 22-gamer in 1959.
Getting the call for the Giants tonight will be righty Matt Cain, who has won his last two starts. Cain was brilliant Thursday in Arizona, as he scattered three hits over eight scoreless innings to run his record to 8-8 while lowering his ERA to 3.10.
Cain beat the Marlins back on May 6 and is 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA in six starts against them.
San Francisco swept a three-game set from the Marlins earlier in the year and has won five of the last seven meetings in the series.
<< Reds seek revenge in clash with streaking Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edinson Volquez aims to start another Cincinnati win streak
when the Reds visit Miller Park tonight for the second test of a four-game
series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Cincinnati had beaten the Brewers six straight times
<< Cubs' Lilly to make possible showcase start against Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Slumping lefty Ted Lilly faces a team against which he's
had career-long success tonight, when the Chicago Cubs meet the Houston Astros
in the second test of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.
In Monday's opener, Rya
<< Resurgent Phils to begin home set with Diamondbacks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies are starting to play like the
team that won back-to-back National League titles. Tonight they shoot for a
sixth straight win when they open a three-game series against the Arizona
Diamondbacks at Cit
<< Mets return home to face Wainwright following disastrous trip
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a disastrous road trip, the New York Mets return home
in the hopes of finding their offense. Too bad they have St. Louis ace Adam
Wainwright waiting for them.
Wainwright will look to extend his scoreless innings stre
A-Rod continues quest for 600 vs. Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees used the long ball to come through
with a win over the Cleveland Indians last night, but none came off the bat of
Alex Rodriguez.
With their star slugger still stuck on 599 career home runs, the Yankee
Braves get another look at Strasburg >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nationals' Stephen Strasburg hasn't faced many
hiccups since reaching the majors, but the 22-year-old phenom wasn't at the
top of his game when he first faced the Braves.
Strasburg will look for better results tonigh
Reeling Rockies return home to battle Bucs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The suddenly-skidding Colorado Rockies welcome another
struggling National League team to Coors Field tonight, when they open a
three-game midweek series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Colorado, which has lost six straight g
Penguins PA announcer Barbero dies >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins' longtime public
address announcer John Barbero passed away Monday evening at the age of 65.
Barbero had been battling a brain tumor since February 2009.
"On behalf of the enti
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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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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