Cards, Pirates set to continue series between Central foes

Baseball Betting Lines

05/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals hope to carry over the momentum from a late-inning victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday into tonight's clash between the National League Central teams from PNC Park.

The division-leading Cardinals snapped a string of three straight losses with a 4-3 triumph over the Bucs in Friday's opener of this three-game set. Yadier Molina went 4-for-5 and drove in three runs, including the go-ahead RBI double in the ninth inning.

Molina stepped up and hit a liner to the right-field gap off Evan Meek (1-1) to score pinch-runner Joe Mather to snap a 3-3 deadlock. Closer Ryan Franklin (2-0) then worked around a one-out single in the bottom half to nail down the win.

Matt Holliday also had four hits for St. Louis, while starter Chris Carpenter allowed two runs over seven strong innings in a no-decision.

Lastings Milledge had two hits and an RBI for the Pirates, who were coming off a three-game home sweep of the Chicago Cubs. Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 in the loss, while Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke gave up three unearned runs over the first 6 1/3 innings.

"They're tough. They kept coming," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said of the Pirates. "It was a very tough, competitive game."

Pittsburgh could be in for a challenge again tonight, with the impressive Jaime Garcia set to take the mound for St. Louis. The rookie southpaw has been sensational thus far in 2010, having amassed a 3-1 record with a 1.12 earned run average over five starts. He's surrendered one run or fewer in four of those outings.

Garcia was outstanding once again in Monday's 6-3 victory over defending NL champion Philadelphia, holding the Phillies to one run and three hits while fanning six over six frames.

The 23-year-old did face the Pirates in relief during a brief major league stint with the Cardinals in 2008, allowing no runs over a combined 3 1/3 innings of work.

Garcia will be opposed by Jeff Karstens, who makes his third start for the Pirates after being called up from the minors in late April. The right-hander was sharp in his first appearance, tossing 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball in an April 27 no-decision at Milwaukee, but struggled badly in a loss at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.

Karstens was rocked for six runs on 11 hits in five innings against Los Angeles, while striking out three and walking one.

The 27-year-old lost his only career start against St. Louis, which took place at PNC Park on May 14 of last season. He gave up three runs over six innings in that 5-1 setback.

The Cardinals won 10 of their 15 meetings with the Pirates last season, winning six of the nine games contested in Pittsburgh.

Sportt Baseball Betting News

<< Surging Blue Jays strive to stay hot in Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Riding the longest current winning streak in the majors, the Toronto Blue Jays go for seven in a row when they take on the Chicago White Sox tonight in third test of a four-game set. Last night, Alex Gonzalez blasted a thr

<< Cilic, Youzhny to meet in BMW final
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Croat Marin Cilic and two-time runner-up Mikhail Youzhny of Russia were both semifinal winners Saturday to reach the title match at the clay-court BMW Open, a French Open tune-up. The Aussi

<< Road-warrior Rays aim to take down Athletics once again
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays seek their 14th road win of the season today as they take on the Oakland Athletics in the second installment of a three-game set at the Coliseum. Courtesy of their success on the road, the Rays own the b

<< Red Sox try to draw even with ailing Yanks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The injury-riddled New York Yankees gun for their sixth win in a row today, when they resume a three-game set with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Despite playing without catcher Jorge Posada and outfielder Curtis Grand

<< Bayern seals title in style
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich officially clinched its 22nd Bundesliga title on Saturday as they recorded a 3-1 win over Hertha Berlin at the Olympiastadion. Bayern had all but secured the crown last weekend as they ent

Angels attempt to pin eighth straight loss on Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling Seattle Mariners will try to snap out of their rut tonight as they host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the middle bout of a three-game set at Safeco Field. After last night's 8-0 setback to the Angels,

Rockies' youngster to try to knock off improving Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers set their sights on a third consecutive victory when the reigning National League West champions host the Colorado Rockies tonight in the second test of a three-game series between 2009 postseason part

Braves' bats hope to break out in middle test with Phils >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries to a number of key regulars have rendered the Atlanta Braves' offense punchless over the last few games, a trend the slumping club would like to end in this afternoon's divisional showdown with the National League Ea

Rolling Rangers set sights on another win over Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers take aim at a third straight win over the Kansas City Royals tonight, when the teams lock up in the third test of a four-game series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. On Friday, C.J. Wilson gave up one ru

Kentucky's Orton, Bledsoe staying in NBA Draft >>
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -Kentucky freshmen Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton are choosing to remain in the NBA Draft.Orton and Bledsoe announced Saturday they will not return to school for their sophomore seasons. They'll join fellow underclassmen John Wall

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

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)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .