Cubs, Pirates resume series in the Steel City
Baseball Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs will try to get back to the .500 mark this evening, when they resume a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Chicago ended a two-game losing streak with Monday's 3-1 win over the Pirates in the opener of this series, as starting pitcher Rich Harden recorded a rare recent win for the Cubs' rotation with seven innings of one-run ball. Harden, who won for the first time since May 12, allowed nine hits, struck out nine and walked only one batter to lift Chicago to a 2-6 mark on its 10-game road trip.
"The important thing is the team won today," Harden said on the team's site. "I've never really got caught up in personal wins or losses. As long as I'm doing my job out there and giving the team a chance to win, then I'm happy."
Carlos Marmol tossed a scoreless eighth inning and Kevin Gregg followed with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 13th save of the season.
Ryan Theriot homered and Milton Bradley finished with two hits and an RBI for the Cubs, who are 3 1/2 games off the lead in the National League Central division.
Cubs starter Ted Lilly gets the nod on Tuesday and he is 2-1 over his last three decisions, with Chicago going 5-1 over that stretch of games. Lilly lost his most recent outing Thursday at Detroit, as he allowed six runs and 10 hits in six innings of work.
Lilly, who is 7-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 15 starts this season, will try to stay unbeaten over his career against Pittsburgh. The left-hander is 3-0 with a 4.60 ERA in nine games (7 starts) versus the Bucs.
Pittsburgh has lost two in a row after a four-game winning streak and fell to 4-7 over its last 11 games after last night's loss to Chicago. Jack Wilson had the lone RBI, while Nyjer Morgan had three hits and Andy LaRoche added two with a run scored for the Pirates, who are 4-3 on a 10-game homestand.
"We need to play well," Pittsburgh manager John Russell said on the team's Web site. "Whether people realize it or not, we're right there. If we can start sneaking a few games here or there and continue to play well, we really feel like we're right there where we need to be."
Buccos starter Zach Duke entered Monday's start 5-0 with a 2.50 earned run average over his last five trips to the PNC Park mound, but allowed three runs on seven hits in seven innings of work to absorb the loss.
The Pirates will send Ross Ohlendorf to the hill on Tuesday and he is 1-3 over his past four decisions, spanning seven starts. He most recently faced Cleveland on Thursday and did not factor in the outcome of a 3-2 victory.
Ohlendorf was reached for just a pair of runs through seven innings and allowed five hits, with two strikeouts and three walks. The right-hander, who is 4-2 in eight home starts this season, has never faced the Cubs in his career.
Chicago won two of three matchups with Pittsburgh from May 25-27 at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have won 20 of the last 25 meetings in the series.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Smoltz will be attempting to atone for a shaky debut in a Boston Red Sox uniform when the star pitcher takes the mound for tonight's clash with the Baltimore Orioles from Camden Yards. Smoltz's first major
<< Safina, Venus will clash in Wimbledon semis
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-ranked Dinara Safina and five-time
champion and former world No. 1 Venus Williams were a pair of quarterfinal
winners Tuesday at Wimbledon. The two stars will meet in a marquee semifinal
here on Thursda
<< Tigers hope to regroup in Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Detroit Tigers hope to jump-start their slumping
offense when the current American League Central leaders play the second test
of a three-game series with the host Oakland Athletics this evening.
Detroit had
<< LA's Billingsley takes on Colorado's Marquis at Chavez Ravine
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of pitchers vying to become the National League's
first 10-game winner of the season will go head-to-head when the Los Angeles
Dodgers and Colorado Rockies continue a three-game series this evening at
Dodger
<< Royals, Twins resume series in KC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- A pair of American League Central foes resume a three-game
series tonight at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium, where the host Royals will
be vying for a second straight win over the Minnesota Twins.
Kansas City received
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Cliff Lee goes for two straight wins over Chicago and three straight overall when his Cleveland Indians host the White Sox tonight in the middle game of a three-game series at Progressive Field. The American Leag
Yankees host Mariners in the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hard-throwing right-hander Joba Chamberlain tries again for
win No. 1 on his new home field tonight, when the New York Yankees host the
Seattle Mariners in the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Chamberlai
Rays put win streak on the line in Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays bested one of the best pitchers in the
majors last night and will try to duplicate that success Tuesday, when they
resume a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
The Rays knoc
Reds return home to face slumping D-Backs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Dan Haren looks for a measure of midseason
revenge tonight, when his Arizona Diamondbacks travel to Cincinnati for the
opener of a three-game series with the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Haren, a 16-game
Rookies square off in Marlins-Nationals tilt >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of rookies face their respective opponents - and
each other - for the first time tonight, when the Washington Nationals visit
the Florida Marlins for the middle test of a three-game series at Land Shark
Stadium.
Th
Credit Card Betting: Sportsbook accepts U.S. credit cards
Online Sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard
MySportsbook.com is the best at processing US credit cards for deposits. Welcome to the most player friendly online sportsbook on the planet!
The principals behind MySportsbook are obviously a management group that understands the players needs as evidenced by their commitment to provide easy depositing with their high credit card acceptance rate and free weekly $10 bets they offer to clients with active betting accounts.
The perks don't end there! MySportsbook offers casino, poker and horses as well. Twice named Best Sportsbook by eGaming Review, this place is rock solid financially so you don't ever have to sweat the payout as you may with some other online bookies operating with less betting volume and client base.
Sign up today and grab your share of a 10% bonus that is added instantly to your betting account. Enjoy 52 risk free bets throughout the year as well!
Reasons to Play There: You have to see their no hitter, cycle hitter and slaughter rule promos for baseball. Worth a laugh and probably a few bucks throughout the MLB season. They offer supersized bonuses of 15% if you up your minimum deposit to $500 or more. Lay -105 on Friday NBA! Contests during the NFL football season!
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.