Cardinals go for ninth win in a row, sweep of slumping Phils

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright will try to become just the second 15-game winner in the major leagues and remain unbeaten at home when he attempts to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to their ninth straight win and a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies today at Busch Stadium.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is currently tops in the bigs with 15 wins, while Wainwright is right behind with a 14-5 record and a 2.02 earned run average in 20 starts this season. He has won four straight starts to go along with a 0.31 ERA and hasn't allowed a run over his last 19 innings.

After going the distance in a win over Milwaukee on July 4, Wainwright threw eight shutout innings in a victory at Houston five days later. He then tossed six scoreless frames in a 2-0 triumph versus Los Angeles last Saturday, as he scattered five hits and struck out three batters. Wainwright pushed his 2010 Busch Stadium mark to 10-0 in 10 tries and owns a 1.31 ERA in that stretch.

The right-hander is 2-1 in seven career games (five starts) against the Phillies and did not record a decision when he faced them in a 2-1 loss in Philadelphia back on May 4. Wainwright limited Philadelphia to a run and four hits through eight innings of work.

Wainwright's staff mate Jaime Garcia picked up his ninth win of the season last night by holding the slumping Phillies to a run and four hits with six strikeouts through seven innings. Garcia (9-4), Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are a combined 39-21 so far this season.

"[Garcia] was aggressive. He didn't really get behind the count too often," said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

Matt Holliday homered and Felipe Lopez drove in two runs for the National League Central-leading Cardinals, who have won eight straight and will try for nine consecutive wins for the first time since the 2004 campaign. St. Louis, which is 1 1/2 games ahead of Cincinnati, hasn't swept the Phillies in four games at home since Aug. 4-7, 1986.

The last time St. Louis tasted defeat was July 10 at Houston. It will hit the road for six games against the Cubs and Mets after this afternoon's contest.

Philadelphia has dropped four in a row and fell to 1-6 on an eight-game road trip following last night's loss. A lack of runs and poor pitching has hampered the Phillies lately, and they could make a move for a pitcher with the trade deadline looming.

In Wednesday's four-run loss in the Gateway City, Joe Blanton fell to 3-6 on the season after he surrendered five runs -- three earned -- and seven hits in seven innings of work. Ryan Howard belted his 22nd home run of the season in the fifth inning to account for Philadelphia's scoring.

"What can I say?" Phils manager Charlie Manuel said on the team's site. "We come out here about every day and we do the same thing. We haven't been scoring runs. I've been giving everybody in that locker room a chance, I feel like. If you can hit, please do. What the hell? That's kind of how I look at it. That's not taking no shot at one guy. That's covering a lot of territory."

The Phillies will head home for seven games against Colorado and Arizona following this afternoon's contest and sit seven games behind Atlanta in the NL West standings.

Phillies lefty Cole Hamels pitched well enough for a win the last time he faced St. Louis, but was able to set his team up for a victory with eight innings of one-run ball and eight strikeouts in a 2-1 decision on May 4. Hamels, who is 2-2 in seven career starts against the Cardinals, will take the ball today and is 1-0 with a 1.66 ERA in his last three starts.

Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP, recorded another no-decision in last Saturday's 4-1 victory at the Chicago Cubs and limited the NL Central inhabitants to a run on eight hits in seven innings. The left-hander remained at 7-7 in 19 starts this year and lowered his ERA to 3.63. He hopes to even his road mark tonight, as he sports a 3-4 ledger in nine away starts this season.

The Phillies had a four-game winning streak in the Gateway City come to an end with a loss in Monday's opener of this set. St. Louis now leads the season series by a 4-3 count.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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