Nats turn to Strasburg in hopes of stopping slide versus Reds

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07/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Who knows what sort of goodies Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg received yesterday for his 22nd birthday. The rookie will try to give Washington a gift this evening, when he attempts to end his club's four- game skid in the third contest of a four-game series versus the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

The top pick of the 2009 draft sandwiched the All-Star break with a pair of victories, besting San Francisco on July 9 with six innings of one-run ball before holding the Marlins to just four hits and three walks over six scoreless innings Friday in Florida. However, he needed 34 pitches to get out of the first inning in Miami.

"It's three, four times now where the first inning [Strasburg's] been up in the thirties in pitches, which makes it agonizing for everybody because we want him to be able to go six, seven innings," said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. "When you throw that many [pitches] in the first it becomes unlikely, but as Stephen has done, he just got tougher and tougher as the game went along."

Strasburg struck out seven Marlin hitters, giving him 68 punchouts over 48 2/3 innings to go along with a 4-2 record and 2.03 earned run average. He will face the Reds for the first time.

The Nationals haven't won since Strasburg's last start. They were blanked in their first two games after Friday's victory and lost Monday's opener with the Reds, 7-2. They then fell behind by seven runs last night before making a game of it but falling short in an 8-7 setback.

Down 8-1, the Nats put together a six-run sixth following a near three-hour rain delay during the fifth inning. Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run homer and Mike Morse added a pinch-hit three-run triple in the frame.

"I thought we were right in the game," Washington's Ian Desmond told his team's website. "We were a couple of at-bats away from taking the lead or tying it."

Nationals starter Luis Atilano was limited to just four innings because of the weather and gave up five runs on five hits with three walks. Cincinnati's Mike Leake, meanwhile, ran his unbeaten streak to five starts after throwing five innings of one-run ball.

Joey Votto hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Leake also drove in a run for the Reds, who have won four of five since the All-Star break to remain a half-game behind the Cardinals for first place in the National League Central. St. Louis has won seven in a row.

"It was close, but we pulled it out, and it was a nice win after a long break from the game," Leake told his club's site. "When you've got the ball in the hands of our seventh, eighth, ninth-inning guys, you've got to put all your trust in them."

The Reds haven't had any trouble putting their trust in Bronson Arroyo, who will look to win a fourth straight start this evening after extending his run Friday versus the Rockies.

He bested Colorado with seven innings of two-run, five-hit ball, improving to 5-1 with a 2.20 ERA over his last six starts and 10-4 with a 3.96 ERA overall this year.

The 33-year-old righty, who has allowed more than two runs just once over his last six outings, is 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA in seven career starts versus the Nationals. He did not get a decision when he faced them on June 6, despite giving up just two runs over eight innings of his team's 5-4 victory.

The Reds took two of three in Washington from June 4-6, but it was the Nationals who took three of four at Cincinnati last season.

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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