Dickey leads Mets into finale vs. Astros
Baseball Betting Lines
08/29/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Resurgent knuckleballer R.A. Dickey aims for a second straight win and third in four decisions today, when the New York Mets close out a three-game series with the visiting Houston Astros at Citi Field.
The Mets won Friday's opener, but Houston pulled even Saturday when Brett Myers tossed seven scoreless innings and Carlos Lee hit a two-run shot and drove in three runs in a 4-1 triumph.
Tommy Manzella finished 3-for-4 and knocked in the other run for the Astros, who have taken six of their last seven.
Myers (10-7) reached double-digit wins for the sixth time in his career by scattering six hits and striking out six and issuing one walk. He also extended his franchise-best streak from the start of the season with his 27th outing of six or more innings.
Brandon Lyon recorded a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.
Ike Davis doubled among his two hits for the Mets, who have lost three of four.
Johan Santana (10-9) surrendered eight hits and four runs with four strikeouts over seven full frames in the setback. The veteran lefty has lost his last three decisions and also saw his streak of three straight complete games snapped.
Dickey, a first-round draft choice 14 years ago, won just 22 major league games through the beginning of 2010 and picked up his eighth win of this season with a one-hitter against Philadelphia on Aug. 13.
He's made two starts and received two no-decisions since, including an Aug. 18 outing in Houston. He allowed 19 hits and seven runs across 15 1/3 innings.
The matchup was his third in 163 career big-league outings against the Astros, who've managed nine hits and two runs against him in 10 1/3 combined innings.
Dickey, who'll be 36 in October, is 5-1 in seven home starts.
For Houston, red-hot righty Bud Norris seeks a fifth straight victory overall and second against the Mets in 10 days.
The 25-year-old allowed two runs on two hits in seven innings of an Aug. 19 start against New York in Houston, winning a 3-2 verdict for his fourth in a row since a July 17 loss at Pittsburgh dropped him to 2-7.
In seven starts since, Norris has pitched at least six innings each time and struck out a season-best 14 batters while beating the Pirates on Aug. 14.
His earned run average has dropped more than a full run, from 6.09 to 5.03.
Norris is 3-3 in nine road starts in 2010. He was 6-3 overall in 11 games with the Astros as a rookie last season.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League East-leading Atlanta Braves were able to end their four-game slide with last night's win versus the Florida Marlins. This afternoon they'll try for a series victory over their division rivals in the fin
<< Brewers' Bush takes on Pirates at Miller Park
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh native Dave Bush faces his hometown team for the
16th time today, when the Milwaukee Brewers close out a three-game weekend set
with the visiting Pirates at Miller Park.
A 30-year-old product of Wake Forest, B
<< LA sends Lilly to mound in Colorado
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ted Lilly will try to stay unbeaten in Dodger blue this
afternoon, as he takes the hill in the finale of a three-game series against
the NL West-rival Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Lilly has won all five starts
<< Giants wrap up series vs. D'Backs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Giants rookie Buster Posey is a big reason for the club's
success, but a forearm strain has been bothering the young catcher lately. He
is expected to be back in today's lineup versus the Arizona Diamondbacks in
the fin
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - August 29th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Group C Halftime: China 41 Ivory Coast 33 (Ankara)
Group D Halftime: Canada 43 Lithuania 33 (Izmir)
Group A End of 1st Quarter: Jordan 17 Angola 16 (Kayseri)
Group B End of 1st Quarter : USA 23 Slovenia 11 (Istanbul
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie left-hander Travis Wood steps into Edinson Volquez's spot in the Cincinnati starting rotation today, when the first-place Reds close out a three-game weekend series with the visiting Chicago Cubs at Great America
Cards' Wainwright goes for win No. 18 in Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals co-ace Adam Wainwright will try to
become the first 18-game winner in the National League when he takes the ball
Sunday afternoon in the finale of a four-game series from Nationals Park.
Wainwrigh
Richard, Padres aim to salvage set with Phils >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Padres left-hander Clayton Richard will try to keep his
unbeaten streak intact and pull San Diego to victory this afternoon against
the Philadelphia Phillies in the finale of a three-game series at Petco Park.
Richa
Twins have brooms ready for Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins will attempt to complete a three-game
road sweep of the lowly Seattle Mariners today at Safeco Field.
Carl Pavano, one of the majors' most surprising performers in 2010, will take
the ball for Minn
Orioles shoot for sweep of Angels >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have an opportunity to earn a rare
sweep today as they visit the LA Angels of Anaheim in the final of three
weekend games.
Baltimore will give the ball to Jeremy Guthrie, and like the vast m
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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