07/24/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Sheets attempts to follow up CC Sabathia's brilliant performance from Wednesday, while his Milwaukee Brewers try and complete their first-ever four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals tonight at Busch Stadium.
Sabathia (4-0) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and hurled a three- hit shutout in Milwaukee's 3-0 win last night.
The 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner, who struck out seven with two walks, has been everything the Brewers were hoping for when the organization acquired him in a trade with the Cleveland Indians earlier this month. The burly lefty has now won all four of his starts with Milwaukee, with three straight complete-game performances, and has yielded just six runs (five earned) over 33 innings with his new team.
J.J. Hardy and Ryan Braun both homered for the red-hot Brewers, who have won seven consecutive games and have homered in 19 straight, tying the franchise record set in 1996. Braun finished 4-for-5, while Rickie Weeks was 3-for-4 and drove in a run to help Milwaukee move two games in front of the Cards in the NL Wild Card race, while remaining a game back of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
With a victory today, the Brewers will set a new franchise record with their seventh straight win away from home while also finishing the seven-game trek with their most wins without a loss on a road trip in club history.
Brendan Ryan, Ryan Ludwick and Aaron Miles each had a hit for the Cardinals, who have dropped the first three games in this series after winning their previous five.
Braden Looper (9-8) was the hard-luck loser, allowing just one run on seven hits in five innings.
Sheets, meanwhile, did not get a decision on Friday in San Francisco in his first outing since starting the All-Star Game for the National League. Sheets, who is 10-3 with a 2.88 ERA on the year, surrendered four runs (2 earned) and nine hits in five innings against the Giants in an 8-5 Milwaukee win.
The 30-year-old righty, who is 6-1 in 12 road starts this season, has struggled in his career against the Cards, having posted a 5-14 mark to go along with a 4.28 ERA in 24 starts.
St. Louis will pin its hopes on righty Todd Wellemeyer, who is 8-4 with a 4.22 ERA. Wellemeyer got the win on Saturday against San Diego, as he allowed five runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Wellemeyer will be making just his second-ever start versus the Brewers, but has faced them seven times out of the bullpen and is 0-1 lifetime against them with a save and a 6.60 ERA.
Milwaukee holds an 8-4 advantage in the 2008 season series with St. Louis and has won in four of its six visits to Busch Stadium this year.
<< Padres, Pirates start series at PNC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Clay Hensley gets his first post-trade
opportunity in the San Diego starting rotation tonight when the Padres visit
the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first of four weekend games at PNC Park.
Hensley, who's not s
<< Rays visit Royals for four games
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays will attempt to maintain their hold on
first place in the American League East when the up-and-coming club begins a
four-game series with the Kansas City Royals tonight at Kauffman Stadium.
Tampa Bay st
<< Halladay hopes to stay hot in Baltimore
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto right-hander Roy Halladay can continue a
remarkable run of success against Baltimore today when the Blue Jays visit the
Orioles for the finale-and-a-half of a four-game series at Camden Yards.
Wednesday's contest
<< Giants shoot for rare home sweep in finale with Nats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants try and complete their first home
sweep of the season when they conclude their three-game set with the
Washington Nationals this afternoon at AT&T Park.
At 19-31, the Giants own the
Chiefs agree to terms with another draft pick >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs agreed to terms
with tackle Branden Albert on a five-year contract Thursday. Per team policy,
terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Albert, a 6-foot-5, 316-pounder, was the 15
Twins continue to struggle against AL East >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a good thing the Minnesota Twins don't play in the
American League East.
The Twins ventured into Yankee Stadium this week and got swept right out of
town by the Bronx Bombers. It was the seventh straight time Minnesot
Girls' Junior washed out for the day >>
West Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With more bad weather forecast for an
already soggy U.S. Girls Junior Championship, officials decided Thursday to
postpone the second round of match play.
Play will re-start at 7:00 a.m. (et) Fr
Ochoa grabs early lead in France >>
Evian-les-Bains, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lorena Ochoa returned to action
and to the top of the leaderboard.
Playing for the first time since the U.S. Women's Open, Ochoa fired a seven-
under 65 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead a
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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