Cardinals shoot for needed series win in Milwaukee

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took a lot longer than expected, but Milwaukee reliever Trevor Hoffman finally picked up his 600th career save. The St. Louis Cardinals would have preferred that he waited a few more days.

The Cardinals will try to rebound tonight for a series win as Jamie Garcia tries for a fourth straight winning start in the finale of a three-game set with the Brewers at Miller Park.

Hoffman began the season as Milwaukee's closer and with 591 career saves, the most all-time, but struggled early on and eventually lost his role to John Axford. However, with the Brewers long out of the playoff race, manager Ken Macha has given the 42-year-old some opportunities to close out games.

Last night's save, as Hoffman locked down a 4-2 Milwaukee win, was his third since Aug. 18 and helped him reach the milestone.

"Accomplishments like this are shared among a lot of people, and I think it just validates the work you put in and the ballplayer that good things can happen," Hoffman said.

Casey McGehee put the Brewers ahead for good with a two-run single in the fifth inning, driving in three runs total on three hits. Prince Fielder also drove in a run for Milwaukee, which had lost six of seven coming in.

Chris Narveson picked up the win, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out nine over seven innings.

Yadier Molina and Colby Rasmus each drove in a run for the Cardinals, who had won three of four and remained six games back of Cincinnati for first place in the National League Central. They are also 5 1/2 games off the pace in the NL Wild Card race.

Kyle Lohse took the loss, yielding four runs in five innings.

"Tough way to lose. It's frustrating to give up the two-out hits again," Lohse said.

The Cardinals hope that Garcia has better luck tonight, a safe bet given that the 24-year-old is 3-0 with a 0.86 earned run average over his last three starts. After posting two straight scoreless outings that spanned 14 1/3 innings, Garcia was charged with two runs over 6 2/3 frames in beating the Reds on Friday.

The left-hander is 13-6 with a 2.35 ERA this year, and that includes a loss to the Brewers on Aug. 17, even though he allowed just three unearned runs over six innings. Garcia is 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in five lifetime meetings with Milwaukee, four of those starts.

Chris Capuano counters for the Brewers and he is coming off a tough loss to Philadelphia on Friday. The 32-year-old southpaw allowed just a run over five innings, but got no support in a 1-0 setback.

Capuano is 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA in 19 games this year, four of those starts. He is 4-5 with a 5.59 ERA in 13 career games against the Cardinals, all but one of those starts.

Milwaukee and St. Louis have split 14 meetings this year, with the Brewers winning six of the last nine meetings.

Www5dimes Baseball Betting News

<< Bruins host Cardinal in Pac-10 opener
Pasadena, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Stanford Cardinal kicks off its Pac-10 Conference slate against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Stanford vaulted into the national rankings following a convincing 52-17 victory over Sacramen

<< Traditional national powers collide in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the premier matchups on the 2010 college football docket takes place in Tuscaloosa this weekend, as the top- ranked and defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide square off against the 18th-ranked

<< Spartans face another uphill battle in bout with Badgers
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Spartans continue their early- season trek through some of the most treacherous waters imaginable as a week after taking on the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide, they head north to bat

<< Grief-stricken Cowboys face tall task in clash with Longhorns
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a game overshadowed by tragedy, the grieving Wyoming Cowboys take on the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns in a non-conference affair. On Monday, 19-year-old Wyoming freshman linebacker Ruben Narcisse was killed

<< Bragging rights on line as West Virginia visits Marshall
Huntington, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - State rivals will square off in Huntington on Friday night, as the Marshall Thundering Herd welcome the 23rd-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers to town. On opening weekend, West Virginia cruised past Coastal

Aaron `saddened' by Bonds, Clemens steroid stories >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Hank Aaron's verdict on baseball's steroid scandal: ``Saddened.''Aaron, long reluctant to weigh in too strongly on the stories involving steroids and baseball, said Tuesday he'll keep sticking with that tact in the cases of Roger Clem

Vikings-Saints: Great way to get going >>
Maybe this time Brett Favre won't get picked off with victory in his grasp.In as juicy a season opener as the NFL could provide, Favre marches the Minnesota Vikings into New Orleans on Thursday night for a reprise of January's NFC championship game.

No. 21 Tigers, Bulldogs feature potent offenses >>
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -In one of the ugliest games in recent college football history, Auburn and Mississippi State punted, fumbled and stumbled their way to a 3-2 finish in 2008 that made both schools cringe.Auburn won - on the scoreboard.But real

Dolphins sign Clifton Smith >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins have signed former Pro Bowl return specialist Clifton Smith, who spent the previous two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Smith has played 20 games in his NFL career and was Pro Bo

CFL Previews - September 10-12 - Week Eleven >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CALGARY STAMPEDERS (8-1) AT EDMONTON ESKIMOS (2-7) DATE & TIME: Friday, September 10, 9:00 p.m. (et). GAME NOTES: Friday night brings out the best and the worst in the Canadian Football League as

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards