Pirates to face tough test from Cueto, Reds
Baseball Betting Lines
08/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates scored more runs in one inning of Tuesday's victory over the Cincinnati Reds then they had in their previous five games. They'll likely find offense harder to come by this afternoon, given Johnny Cueto's domination of them over his young career.
Cueto aims for a seventh straight winning decision over Pittsburgh and a series victory for his Cincinnati team in today's finale of a three-game set at PNC Park.
The 24-year-old Cueto is 8-2 with a 3.00 earned run average in 11 career starts versus the Pirates, winning six decisions over seven starts since losing to them on April 11 of last season. He is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in three starts against them this year, allowing just three runs with 21 strikeouts over 20 innings.
Cueto had been 4-0 with a 0.88 ERA in his last six starts overall prior to a rough outing versus Atlanta on Friday. He yielded four runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings, getting a no-decision in his club's 6-4 loss.
The righty hasn't lost since June 18 and is 10-2 with a 3.32 ERA on the season.
Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones is 0-for-8 with four strikeouts versus Cueto this year, while Andrew McCutchen is just 1-for-8 against him. McCutchen, though, is unlikely to be in the lineup today after suffering a neck contusion when he was hit by a pitch from the Reds' Mike Leake in last night's 7-6 Pittsburgh win.
McCutchen's injury came during a six-run second inning by the Pirates, who had plated just five runs total over a five-game losing streak that came to a halt. Neil Walker capped the big frame with a three-run double and ended with three hits and a career-high four runs batted in.
"The runs were big. Neil's double off the wall with the bases loaded was a huge hit for us," said Pirates manager John Russell. "We tried to let them back in a little bit, but we finished it off. It was a solid win for us."
Paul Maholm got the win with six-plus innings of four-run ball, while Joel Hanrahan notched his first save since May 24, 2009, while then with Washington.
Leake yielded seven runs -- six earned -- on seven hits over five innings to take the loss and was also hit by a pitch by Maholm, prompting a warning to both benches.
Brandon Phillips had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in a pair of runs for the Reds, who had won three straight and five of six coming in but were still able to maintain their half-game edge over St. Louis for first place in the National League Central.
Cincinnati placed shortstop Orlando Cabrera on the disabled list before the game due to a left oblique strain suffered on Monday, while first baseman Joey Votto did not start for a second straight game because of a right wrist sprain. He did pinch-hit in the eighth inning and should start today.
"Joey's feeling better, feeling a lot better," Reds manager Dusty Baker told his team's website. "Had it been down the stretch in September, he probably would have played. But the experience of having hand problems, another day would help him, and then he'll play [Wednesday] and then he'll be off on Thursday, which will help him for the weekend."
Votto, who is hitting .322 with 27 homers and 72 RBI this year, is 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI lifetime versus Pirates starter Jeff Karstens, who hasn't won since June 19 and is 0-4 with a 4.02 ERA in seven starts since that victory.
Karstens, though, has allowed two runs or fewer in four of those outings and got a no-decision on Friday despite six scoreless innings versus the Cardinals. He also didn't walk a batter and worked around seven hits in his club's 1-0 loss.
The 27-year-old righty is 2-6 with a 4.42 ERA on the season and 0-3 with a 6.45 ERA in six career games against the Reds, three of those starts.
Cincinnati has won seven of 12 versus Pittsburgh this year, with the teams splitting eight games at PNC Park.
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Cardinals try to avoid sweep versus streaking Astros >>
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capture this year's National League Central title, the team can point to its
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
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Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
Ryder Cup Top European scorer
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com