Cubs hope Silva can bounce back versus Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Silva tries to bounce back from two miserable outings this evening when the Chicago Cubs begin a three-game series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Silva, who won his first eight decisions of the season, lasted just one inning against the Astros last Monday, as he was pounded for five runs and seven hits to fall to 9-4 on the year. He wasn't able to get out of the second inning in his previous outing and has given up 11 runs in his last 2 1/3 frames to raise his earned run average to 3.86.

"He's not as sharp as he was earlier, that's for sure," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We have to get him straightened out.

The 31-year-old righty is 2-1 lifetime against Houston with a 5.40 ERA in eight games, three of which have been starts.

Chicago was denied a sweep in its weekend set with the St. Louis Cardinals, falling in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday, as Felipe Lopez's 11th-inning home run propelled the Cards to a 4-3 win.

Ryan Theriot and Marlon Byrd each had two hits and a run driven in for the Cubs, who nonetheless claimed their first series win against a division foe since sweeping Milwaukee from April 23-25, a string of 10 series.

The Cubs had ample opportunity to pull off the sweep, but went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Included was an 0-for-10 performance in their final 10 chances with runners aboard.

Houston, meanwhile, avoided a sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, as Wandy Rodriguez spun seven innings of one-hit ball and received home run support from Hunter Pence and Chris Johnson in a 4-0 win.

Rodriguez (8-11) walked two, struck out seven and did not allow a runner past first base in leading Houston to its' first win in six tries against the Reds at Minute Maid Park this season.

Trying to keep the Astros in the win column this evening will be left-hander Wesley Wright, who will be making his second start of the season. Wright did not get a decision on Tuesday against the Cubs, but gave up six runs - one earned - and six hits in just 4 2/3 innings of his team's 14-7 setback.

Wright, who has pitched to a 4.40 ERA without earning a decision this season, is 2-0 with a 4.11 ERA in 14 games against the Cubs. Tonight's assignment, though, will be just his second start against the club.

Houston has won six of its nine matchups with the Cubs this season.

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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

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