Cards seek to gain further ground on first-place Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright tries once again to become the National League's first 18-game winner when the St. Louis Cardinals continue their three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds today at Busch Stadium.

Like his team, Wainwright has hit the skids as of late, losing three straight starts for the first time in his career while allowing 11 runs in 19 innings of those outings to raise his earned run average to a still-impressive 2.30.

Wainwright's last loss came in Washington on Sunday, as he allowed four runs and six hits in five innings to fall to 17-9 on the year.

"It definitely stings more when you know your team needs wins and you pitch like that," Wainwright said after that game. "I'm pretty ticked about that. I try to be the stopper, not the guy that continues the losing."

Wainwright's last win came at the expense of the Reds back on August 11, when he tossed seven scoreless innings. He is 3-3 lifetime against them with a 4.01 ERA in 12 games, seven of which have been starts.

The 29-year-old right-hander has been dominant at home this season, having posted an 11-1 mark with a 1.42 ERA in 13 starts.

St. Louis picked up a game on the NL Central-leading Reds in the opener of this set on Friday, as Jaime Garcia kept an unbeaten streak against Cincinnati intact with 6 2/3 effective innings and Jon Jay set the tone with a first- inning RBI triple and run scored in the Cardinals' 3-2 win.

Garcia (13-6) won his fourth start in as many tries versus the Reds this season by limiting surging Cincinnati to six hits and two runs while striking out six.

"It's a big win for us, no matter who we were playing," Garcia said. "I see it now a little bit different, that it's a big win against them. But before the game I was just trying to treat it like any team. Just go out there and don't try to do too much."

Ryan Franklin picked up his 23rd save with a spotless ninth to give the Cardinals their fifth straight win against the Reds. Skip Schumaker collected two hits and an RBI in the much-needed win that snapped St. Louis' season-high five-game skid.

The last time these two teams met the Cardinals earned a three-game sweep that gave them sole possession of first place in the division. Since then Cincinnati had won 14 of 18 while the Cards went 5-13 prior to Friday's result, which cut the Reds' lead in the division to seven games.

Bronson Arroyo (14-9) suffered the loss for giving up three runs and six hits in six innings. Paul Janish provided a solo home run in the loss that stunted the Reds' four-game win streak.

"There's not as much pressure, but tonight would have taken a lot of pressure off of us if we had got one tonight," said Arroyo after the game. "Now we know we have to grind it now just to get one [win]. We've got the two best pitchers in the National League going [against us] the next two days. Tonight was huge. We've got two games left, anything can happen."

Cincinnati will turn to rookie left-hander Travis Wood, who is 4-2 with a 3.53 ERA, for today's contest. Wood did not get a decision on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, as he allowed three runs and 10 hits in five innings of his team's 7-5 win.

Wood has never faced the Cards.

The Cardinals have won 11 of 16 games versus the Reds this year.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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