Cardinals start series in Atlanta
Baseball Betting Lines
09/09/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When St. Louis and Atlanta last met in April, the Cardinals
ran away with a four-game sweep at Busch Stadium. They will attempt to do that
again in the first of four consecutive matchups tonight from Turner Field.
The Cardinals had lost three in a row to Atlanta before sweeping a four-game
series from April 26-29, and are currently fighting for their playoff lives.
St. Louis dropped the final two portions of a three-game series at Milwaukee
and suffered an 8-1 setback in Wednesday's finale, as starter Jaime Garcia was
roughed up for seven runs and seven hits in four innings.
Albert Pujols ended with a team-best two hits, including a home run in the
first inning, for the Cardinals, losers in 11 of their last 15 games. The
Cards are still six games behind Cincinnati for the National League Central
lead and sit 6 1/2 games off the pace in the wild card race.
"It was kind of a weird night for us," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
"We're getting shut down pretty regularly now."
La Russa's club is 1-2 on a seven-game road trip and has lost seven of its
last eight contests as the visitor. Speaking of losses, Cardinals co-ace Adam
Wainwright will try to stop a personal four-game losing streak when he takes
the mound this evening. He had won three starts in a row before his recent
slide and is coming off Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Reds in which he yielded
five runs -- two earned -- and seven hits over five innings.
Wainwright fell to 17-10 in 29 starts to go along with a 2.34 ERA. The All-
Star righty is also 6-8 in 15 starts away from Busch Stadium this season. He
beat Atlanta during the four-game sweep on April 29, hurling six innings of
three-run ball in a 10-4 victory. Wainwright is 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA in eight
career matchups (5 starts) with the Braves.
Atlanta is hoping a return home will cure its recent woes, despite salvaging
the finale of a three-game in Pittsburgh with Wednesday's 9-3 victory.
Derek Lowe has won all 10 of his career starts against the Pirates after he
held the hosts to just a run on eight hits in six innings. Lowe also had a hit
and two runs scored, while Martin Prado, Derrek Lee and Alex Gonzalez each
drove in a pair of runs for the current wild card-leading Braves, who had lost
three straight and five of six games before the six-run triumph.
"I felt good," Lowe said. "There was never any issue of any pain and the game
pretty much came down to one pitch in the first inning. We got three runs and
they came back and loaded the bases, and it came down to the pitch to Ryan
Doumit and I was able to make it and then we just kept piling on."
The Braves' recent slump allowed Philadelphia to take back the top spot in the
NL East, as the Phillies hold a half-game lead over Atlanta for division
bragging rights. Atlanta is two games in front of San Francisco for the final
postseason berth in the Senior Circuit.
Atlanta will also host Washington for three games in Dixie and is an
impressive 49-19 at Turner Field this season. It will send Jair Jurrjens to
the mound Thursday and he's 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his last seven starts. He
threw seven shutout innings and gave up three hits in Saturday's 2-0 win at
Florida, improving to 7-4 in 18 outings this season.
Jurrjens lost to the Cardinals in late April and is 1-3 with a 3.27 ERA in
four career starts against them. The right-hander, however, will put his 6-0
home record on the line tonight.
<< Rockies go for sweep of Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Colorado Rockies look to sweep a four-game set
from the Cincinnati Reds when the two teams collide tonight in the series
finale from Coors Field.
Colorado has won six straight overall and recorded a 9-2 victory
<< NL West supremacy on line in San Diego
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First place in the National League West will be on the line
as the top two teams in the division, San Francisco and San Diego, kick off an
important four-game series tonight at Petco Park.
The Padres currently lead the div
<< Brady involved in car accident
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was
involved in a car accident Thursday morning in Boston.
The Patriots confirmed the news on their Twitter feed and added that Brady was
not hospitalized and was e
<< Serie A needs Milan to succeed
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In case you haven't noticed, Italian
soccer is not exactly flourishing.
Yes, the national team won the World Cup four years ago, and Serie A side
Inter Milan became the first Italian team to win
<< Saints, Vikes kick off NFL season with championship-level rematch
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints will begin the first title defense in
their 43-year history on Thursday night, when Drew Brees and company host Brett
Favre and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL's 2010 lid-lifter from the Louisiana
Supe
Rangers, Blue Jays conclude set in Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colby Lewis tries to put the breaks on a personal seven-
game losing streak this evening when the Texas Rangers conclude a four-game
series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Lewis hasn't won since Jul
Tigers eye series win over White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers try to play spoiler this afternoon and
go for a series win when they wrap up a four-game set against the playoff
hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.
The White Sox won the first seven gam
Dodgers take losing streak into Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to avoid a season-high sixth
consecutive loss this evening when they open a four-game series against the
Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The Dodgers' playoff chances took a big hit th
NBA opens office in Moscow >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Basketball Association has
opened a new office in Moscow, as announced by deputy commissioner and COO
Adam Silver on Thursday.
Moscow joins the ever-expanding international umbrella ho
NCAA steps up and cracks down >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The old adage "better late than never" does
not always ring true. However, after years of turning a blind eye to the seedy
practices at play in college sports, the NCAA has recently gone on a crusade
for whic
El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
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