Cardinals go with winless starter Suppan in Chicago

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Suppan takes another crack at his first win of the season this afternoon when the St. Louis Cardinals open a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Suppan has gone 0-3 with a 4.20 earned run average in six starts with the Cardinals following his release from the Milwaukee Brewers. He had been 0-2 with a 7.84 ERA in 15 appearances with the Brewers.

The 35-year-old righty last toed the rubber on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but did not get a decision, despite a solid performance that saw him surrender a run and five hits in six innings of his team's 5-4 win.

Suppan lost to the Cubs back on April 23 while with Milwaukee and is 6-10 lifetime against them with a 3.95 ERA in 25 starts.

St. Louis will need a big start from its veteran hurler tonight if it is going to get back in the win column following a 2-0 loss in 11 innings on Thursday to Philadelphia.

Adam Wainwright extended his scoreless innings streak to 25 after giving up six hits while fanning six in six frames for the Cardinals, who had an eight- game win streak stopped. St. Louis advanced just one runner past first base for the duration of the game and had just three baserunners overall.

"I don't worry about this loss," Wainwright said. "We won seven out of eight against two really good clubs. We should be excited about this homestand...It was just one game we lost in extra innings."

With Kyle McClellan (1-3) on to begin the 11th for St. Louis, Placido Polanco put the Phils ahead with a solo home run. They then tacked a run on later in the frame.

Chicago, meanwhile, also enters on a sour note after dropping two of three to the Houston Astros, including a 4-3, 12-inning setback in Wednesday's rubber match.

Bob Howry (1-3) took the loss after allowing two runs on a pair of hits while recording only one out for the Cubs, who have lost three of five.

Chicago, which is 11 games back of the Cardinals for first place in the National League Central, had a chance to win this one, but it stranded runners at second and third in the 11th after Derrek Lee flied out to end the frame.

"There's no secret we're in a bad spot," said Lee of the Cubs position in the standings. "We need to rack up as many wins as possible and the best way to go about that is winning series. Today we had a chance to win one and we let it slip away."

Heading to the hill for the Cubs this afternoon will be righty Randy Wells, who is 4-7 with a 4.33 ERA. Despite tossing seven scoreless innings on Saturday in Philadelphia, Wells did not get a decision in his team's 4-1 setback.

Wells, who is 0-2 in three appearances (two starts) against the Cards, has a 1.66 ERA over his past three starts, but has just one win in his last 14 outings.

St. Louis took two of three from the Cubs earlier in the season at Wrigley.

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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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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