Cardinals try to end first half with needed win over Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The skidding St. Louis Cardinals can climb within a game of first place to end the season's unofficial first half today, when they visit Minute Maid Park for the finale of a three-game series with the Houston Astros.

The Cardinals fell, 4-1, to the Astros in Saturday's middle test and remained two games in back of the first-place Cincinnati Reds in the National League's Central Division. Cincinnati lost, 1-0, in 11 innings at Philadelphia - the third straight time they've lost to the Phillies in extra frames.

Houston's Jeff Keppinger had two hits, including a home run, to back another strong outing from Brett Myers in Houston's victory last night. Pedro Feliz chipped in with a two-run single for the Astros, who have won four of their last five.

Myers (6-6) went eight innings to grab the win, yielding just the lone run on five hits while fanning five. The right-hander is the only starting pitcher in the big leagues to have gone six innings or more in each of his starts (18) this year.

Houston closer Matt Lindstrom worked around a pair of walks in the ninth to register his 21st save of the season.

Jeff Suppan (0-5) took the loss in his 100th career start as a member of the Cardinals after giving up four runs on seven hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. St. Louis fell for a fourth time in their its five games.

Second-year righty Blake Hawksworth gets the start tonight for St. Louis, just the fifth time in his career he'll open a game on the mound.

The 27-year-old Canadian was used exclusively out of the bullpen last season, making 30 appearances, then began this season with 18 relief outings before a spot start June 7 at the Los Angeles Dodgers. He returned to the bullpen for three more stints before beginning a stretch of three starts with a win at Kansas City on June 26.

Hawksworth was touched for eight hits and two runs in five innings his last time out, getting a no-decision in the Cardinals' 12-9 loss at Colorado on Tuesday. He tossed an inning of scoreless relief against the Astros on May 12 and has allowed just one hit in four relief innings spanning four appearances versus Houston.

For Houston, lefty Wandy Rodriguez faces the Cardinals for the third time this season. The 31-year-old dropped a 5-0 decision on April 12 in St. Louis, then bounced back for a 9-6 win in a subsequent road matchup on May 12. In those outings, he's combined to give up 12 hits and eight earned runs in 10 1/3 innings.

Lifetime against St. Louis, Rodriguez is just 4-10 with a 4.29 earned run average in 17 appearances.

He's won three straight starts after beginning the season at 3-10, however, the most recent coming against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. In the three wins, Rodriguez has given up 15 hits and four runs in 20 innings.

With Saturday's win, the Astros have now taken five of eight matchups with St. Louis thus far this season.

Www3sex Baseball Betting News

<< Nalbandian sends Argentina past Russia in Davis Cup quarters
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian gave Argentina a Davis Cup quarterfinal victory over Russia with a straight-set triumph over Mikhail Youzhny in Sunday's fifth and decisive singles rubber. After Nikolay Davydenko ke

<< Creamer still three in front after third round
Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paula Creamer rolled in a four-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday to move three shots clear after the third round of the U.S. Women's Open. Creamer finished the third round Sunday morning and posted an im

<< Rays aim for series win over lowly Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A four-game set and the first half of the season both come to a close today at Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays host the Cleveland Indians. Tampa Bay enters its final test before the All-Star break two games behin

<< Phillies seeking sweep of hard-fought set with Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A terrific first half of the season is having an unwanted ending for the Cincinnati Reds, who'll be out to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies when the two postseason hopefuls square off again th

<< Rookie Bumgarner tries to pitch Giants past Nationals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants got their first-ever look at Washington Nationals rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg in Friday's opener of this three-game series between the teams. Now they'll unveil their own top pitching prospect

Brewers ready brooms for skidding Bucs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran lefty Randy Wolf pitches for the sweep when the Milwaukee Brewers host the Pittsburgh Pirates today in the finale of their three-game series at Miller Park. Milwaukee has taken one-run verdicts in each of the first

Red-hot Rockies attempt to draw even with sliding Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies appear to be putting together one of those long winning stretches they've become known for during the past few seasons, much to the chagrin of the rest of the National League West. The resurgent Rockie

France completes whitewash of Spain >>
Clermont-Ferrand, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilles Simon and Julien Benneteau each won reverse singles matches for France on Sunday to complete a 5-0 rout of Spain in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. The Spaniards were the two-time defendin

Angels, A's hope to close out first half on high note >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim close out a three-game weekend set from the Coliseum this afternoon. These teams have split the first two meetings of this series, with the Athletics rebounding from

Sabathia gets call for Yanks' first-half finale with Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The final of four weekend games between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners will take place at Safeco Field today. Yankees' ace CC Sabathia will be on the mound for the finale, and that is typically good news for his

MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

About MySportsbook.com:


MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best online Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.

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