Astros vie to extend series win streak over Cubs
Baseball Betting Lines
07/28/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have yet to lose a series to the Chicago Cubs this year. Starting pitcher Bud Norris getting his first victory in well
over two months would keep that stretch going.
Norris and the Astros aim for a fourth series win over the Cubs in as many
tries this year in Wednesday night's finale of a three-game series at Minute
Maid Park.
The Astros have won seven of 11 versus the Cubs in 2010 and evened this series
on Tuesday behind Brett Myers' complete game and a big seventh inning by the
Houston offense that led to a 6-1 triumph.
Myers scattered one run and matched a career high with 12 strikeouts while
going the distance for the first time since Sept. 14, 2008 with Philadelphia,
while Lance Berkman capped a six-run seventh inning with a grand slam.
"Mr. Myers does it again, just an absolute outstanding performance," Houston
manager Brad Mills said after his team improved to 2-3 on a nine-game
homestand. "He just continues to battle. It's fun to watch."
Myers allowed just Tyler Colvin's ninth-inning homer to fall short of the
shutout. The Cubs, who have lost two of three, failed to back Ted Lilly's
scoreless 5 2/3 innings in the start. Reliever Andrew Cashner was charged with
all six Houston runs over 1 1/3 innings of work.
Both Lilly and Myers have been involved in trade rumors leading up to
Saturday's deadline, but Chicago manager Lou Piniella didn't think that
affected his left-hander last night.
"I can tell you it wouldn't bother him," Piniella said. "I rode in with him
from the hotel [Wednesday]. We talked a little bit about his situation. He
wants to stay here, but he understands."
The Astros will hope Norris can notch his first win since May 13, and the
right-hander is 0-3 with a 6.13 earned run average in seven starts since that
outing. He has yielded 13 earned runs over his last three starts, losing
consecutive games before a no-decision versus the Reds on Friday.
The right-hander yielded four runs on four hits and three walks over six
innings in that outing and is 2-7 with a 6.08 ERA on the season.
Norris has yet to win at home this year, having gone 0-4 with a 7.13 ERA in
seven starts, and is making his first career start versus the Cubs this
evening. The 25-year-old did face them in relief a season ago, his first
appearance in the majors, and allowed a run over three frames of work.
After a slow start, Cubs starter Randy Wells has started to put things
together and brings a 14-inning scoreless streak into this outing.
The 27-year-old has hurled consecutive outings of seven innings, getting a no-
decision versus the Phillies on July 17 before besting St. Louis on Friday.
Wells held the Cardinals to five hits and three walks in a 5-0 triumph,
while also striking out seven.
Wells is 5-7 with a 4.07 ERA on the season, but 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA over his
last five starts. He is 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in four career starts versus the
Astros, but did lose in Houston on June 6 after giving up six runs on nine
hits over 5 1/3 innings. The righty yielded a run-scoring single to Berkman
and a two-run homer to Carlos Lee in the first inning to fall behind early.
Wells will look to slow down Astros third baseman Chris Johnson, as the rookie
is hitting .415 (17-for-41) with three homers and nine RBI on an 11-game
hitting streak.
<< White Sox, Buehrle hope to extend home streak versus Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle tries to lead the Chicago White Sox to their
10th straight home win this evening when they resume their four-game series
against the Seattle Mariners at U.S. Cellular Field.
Buehrle has been a big reason behin
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -The Columbus Blue Jackets and defenseman Anton Stralman have agreed on a one-year contract, just minutes before they were to go to arbitration on Wednesday morning.General manager Scott Howson announced the re-signing.Stralman,
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Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots and first-round draft
pick Devin McCourty have agreed to terms of a contract.
McCourty's agent, Andy Simms, posted the news on his Twitter feed Wednesday
morning.
Terms of the
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Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers have reportedly agreed
to terms with rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Clausen has a four-year deal that could
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T
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Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic have extended the contract of
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The team also announced Alex Martins has been promoted to team president and
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Red Sox turn to Beckett aiming for sweep of Angels >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Beckett makes his second start since returning from
the disabled list this afternoon when the Boston Red Sox try to complete a
three-game sweep against the LA Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium.
Boston, which was swep
Struggling Rockies seek to bring skid to a close against Pirates >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies try to avoid their eighth straight
loss this evening when they play the middle test of their three-game series
with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field.
Following a 2-9 road trip, things didn't get a
Santana, Garcia duel again in Mets-Cards clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia
faced New York Mets ace Johan Santana, the rookie was able to match the two-
time Cy Young Award winner pitch-for-pitch.
He may find that to be more difficult tonight.
Posey puts 20-game hit streak on the line as Giants battle Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Buster Posey tries to extend his 20-game hitting
streak this evening when the San Francisco Giants and Florida Marlins resume
their four-game series at AT&T Park.
San Francisco stayed hot on Tuesday, as Juan Uri
Rangers seeking to extend lead on second-place A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee sure is one tough act to follow.
Colby Lewis will have to do just that tonight as he aims to pitch the Texas
Rangers to a fourth straight victory over the Oakland Athletics in the middle
contest of a three-game s
Pacific-10 Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Stanford
 Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State
 It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do:
Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.
Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.
Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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