Astros vie to extend series win streak over Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have yet to lose a series to the Chicago Cubs this year. Starting pitcher Bud Norris getting his first victory in well over two months would keep that stretch going.

Norris and the Astros aim for a fourth series win over the Cubs in as many tries this year in Wednesday night's finale of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.

The Astros have won seven of 11 versus the Cubs in 2010 and evened this series on Tuesday behind Brett Myers' complete game and a big seventh inning by the Houston offense that led to a 6-1 triumph.

Myers scattered one run and matched a career high with 12 strikeouts while going the distance for the first time since Sept. 14, 2008 with Philadelphia, while Lance Berkman capped a six-run seventh inning with a grand slam.

"Mr. Myers does it again, just an absolute outstanding performance," Houston manager Brad Mills said after his team improved to 2-3 on a nine-game homestand. "He just continues to battle. It's fun to watch."

Myers allowed just Tyler Colvin's ninth-inning homer to fall short of the shutout. The Cubs, who have lost two of three, failed to back Ted Lilly's scoreless 5 2/3 innings in the start. Reliever Andrew Cashner was charged with all six Houston runs over 1 1/3 innings of work.

Both Lilly and Myers have been involved in trade rumors leading up to Saturday's deadline, but Chicago manager Lou Piniella didn't think that affected his left-hander last night.

"I can tell you it wouldn't bother him," Piniella said. "I rode in with him from the hotel [Wednesday]. We talked a little bit about his situation. He wants to stay here, but he understands."

The Astros will hope Norris can notch his first win since May 13, and the right-hander is 0-3 with a 6.13 earned run average in seven starts since that outing. He has yielded 13 earned runs over his last three starts, losing consecutive games before a no-decision versus the Reds on Friday.

The right-hander yielded four runs on four hits and three walks over six innings in that outing and is 2-7 with a 6.08 ERA on the season.

Norris has yet to win at home this year, having gone 0-4 with a 7.13 ERA in seven starts, and is making his first career start versus the Cubs this evening. The 25-year-old did face them in relief a season ago, his first appearance in the majors, and allowed a run over three frames of work.

After a slow start, Cubs starter Randy Wells has started to put things together and brings a 14-inning scoreless streak into this outing.

The 27-year-old has hurled consecutive outings of seven innings, getting a no- decision versus the Phillies on July 17 before besting St. Louis on Friday. Wells held the Cardinals to five hits and three walks in a 5-0 triumph, while also striking out seven.

Wells is 5-7 with a 4.07 ERA on the season, but 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA over his last five starts. He is 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in four career starts versus the Astros, but did lose in Houston on June 6 after giving up six runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. The righty yielded a run-scoring single to Berkman and a two-run homer to Carlos Lee in the first inning to fall behind early.

Wells will look to slow down Astros third baseman Chris Johnson, as the rookie is hitting .415 (17-for-41) with three homers and nine RBI on an 11-game hitting streak.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.