Carpenter, Cards try to avoid three-game sweep at Wrigley

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Carpenter goes after win No. 12 this evening when the St. Louis Cardinals try to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Carpenter won his second straight start on Tuesday against Philadelphia, as he held the Phillies to a run and five hits in eight innings to run his record to 11-3 on the year, while lowering his earned run average to 3.05.

"I had good command of my sinker-ball near the bottom of the strike zone," said Carpenter of his dominant outing. "I also threw some good curveballs and kept them off- balanced."

Carpenter, who has allowed just two earned runs in his last two starts spanning 16 innings, beat the Cubs the last time he faced them and is 10-3 lifetime against them with a 2.73 ERA in 18 starts.

The Cubs made it two straight over the Cards on Saturday, as Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro homered to support six solid innings from Tom Gorzelanny, as Chicago eked out a 6-5 win.

Castro finished with three hits, two runs scored and two runs batted in, while Colvin scored twice and walked for Chicago, which has won the first two games over their rivals to claim its first series against a division foe in 11 tries.

A win on Sunday would give the Cubs their first home sweep of the Cards since turning the trick in a four-game set from July 27-30, 2006. Chicago also had a three-game sweep at home over the Cards earlier in that season.

Gorzelanny (6-5) earned the win after allowing three runs on seven hits while walking three and fanning three for Chicago, which has claimed a series over a division foe for the first time in 11 tries. Carlos Marmol set down the Redbirds in the ninth to record his 18th save.

Blake Hawksworth (4-6) suffered the loss after allowing six runs -- five earned -- on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings while walking three and fanning four for the Cardinals, who have dropped three straight.

"The amount of pitches I'm throwing is just too many," said Hawksworth. "I'm just not locating the ball, especially my fastball. I'm falling behind guys and just throwing too many pitches. That's the factor right now, it's not the home runs, just my location is off."

Chicago, meanwhile, will pin its hopes tonight on righty Ryan Dempster, who is 8-7 with a 3.70 ERA. Dempster is unbeaten in his last three starts, but did not get a decision on Tuesday against Houston, which managed seven runs (four earned) and eight hits in five innings of his team's 14-7 win.

Dempster was hit hard by the Cards back on May 30 for six runs in 6 2/3 innings and is 6-7 in 42 games against them with a 4.55 ERA.

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

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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

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