Mets head to Pittsburgh for makeup with Bucs
Baseball Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before the New York Mets begin a critical three-game set in Philadelphia this weekend, they must first play a makeup game in the Keystone State against the Pittsburgh Pirates today at PNC Park.
Today's contest was originally supposed to be the third of a four-game set in early June, but was postponed due to rain. The Pirates won the other three matchups in the series and should they win this afternoon, would complete their first four-game sweep of the Mets - albeit in the rare variety - since September 29-October 1, 1989
New York, though, enters on a bit of a high note after right-hander Mike Pelfrey gave the team exactly what it needed on Wednesday. He tossed nearly eight shutout innings against Milwaukee to help the Mets eke out a 1-0 win and snap a five-game losing streak in the process.
Pelfrey (6-3) helped the Mets grab the victory after keeping the Brewers off the scoreboard for 7 2/3 innings. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out six.
"Mike Pelfrey was outstanding," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "Tremendous, tremendous effort by him. Good command of all his pitches. He got the ground ball when he needed it."
Ryan Church had one of New York's five hits, walked once and drove in the game's lone run.
With Philadelphia's loss in Atlanta, New York moved within two games of the defending world champions for first place in the NL East, with Florida a half- game back of Philadelphia. New York will visit the City of Brotherly Love for a three-game series starting Friday.
Getting the call this afternoon for the Mets will be righty Tim Redding, who is 1-3 with a 6.35 earned run average. Redding was charged with the loss on Saturday against the Yankees, as he gave up five runs and six hits - including two homers - in 5 1/3 innings. The Mets, though, mustered just one hit in that contest.
Redding has faced the Pirates 11 times and is 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA in those contests.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on lefty Paul Maholm, who was roughed up by the Mets back on May 9. New York hit him for seven runs and 10 hits in five innings, dropping him to 3-2 with a 3.65 ERA in six lifetime starts against them .
Maholm, though, picked up the win on Saturday against Kansas City, as he limited the Royals to a pair of runs and five hits in seven innings to improve to 5-4 to go along with a 4.35 ERA for the season.
Pittsburgh enters tonight's tilt on the heels of dropping two of three to the Chicago Cubs, including a 4-1 setback in Wednesday's rubber match.
Pirates starter Virgil Vasquez (1-1) went six frames, allowing three runs on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts to take the loss. He allowed two runs and four hits in six innings and recorded seven strikeouts in that game.
Brandon Moss knocked in the lone run for the Pirates with a single. Andrew McCutchen and Jason Jaramillo each had two hits for Pittsburgh, which has won five of its last eight games despite the loss.
"Wells threw a great game against us. He didn't miss his spots at all," Pirates manager John Russell said about Cubs starter Randy Wells, who held the Pirates to one run over seven innings of work.
Pittsburgh is 3-3 this season against the Mets.
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A federal judge lifted the NASCAR-imposed suspension on driver Jeremy Mayfield Wednesday, allowing him to race again, possibly as soon as this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. "This is huge for us.
<< Sedin twins headline first day of NHL free agency
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday marked the beginning of the
NHL's free agency period, and two of the biggest players on the open market
opted to stay put.
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forwards Daniel and Henrik
<< Yankees' Nady to have Tommy John surgery
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady will
undergo ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow next Wednesday.
The Tommy John surgical procedure will be performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum.
"I'm extremely disa
<< Montreal beats Calgary in Grey Cup rematch
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chip Cox returned a fumble 81 yards for a
touchdown late in the fourth quarter, sealing Montreal's 40-27 win over
Calgary in the season opener for both teams, a rematch of last year's Grey Cup
matchup
<< Moehler, Astros dominate Padres
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Brian Moehler, largely ineffective so
far this season, pitched six solid innings of one-run ball and a three-run
throwing error by Chase Headley opened the floodgates, as Houston buried San
Diego,
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros shoot for a series win this afternoon over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, where the two ballclubs will wrap up a four-game set. Houston has won five of its last seven games, including two of the fir
Cubs, Brewers to begin key NL Central series >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Chicago Cubs are going to win a third straight
National League Central title, they are going to have to pick it up
offensively. This weekend would be a good time to get it going, as they return
home for the start of a
Braves hope to break out the brooms against Phils >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves are gradually working their way up the
NL East standings and will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high
four straight games tonight in the finale of a three-game series versus the
Philadelphia
Yankees hope A-Rod stays hot in finale vs. Seattle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez is starting to heat up. Not coincidentally,
so are the New York Yankees.
The Bronx Bombers will be shooting for an eighth consecutive victory and a
series sweep of Rodriguez's original team, the Seattl
Reds, D-Backs close series in Cincy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds hope that Aaron Harang can have the
same type of outing Johnny Cueto had last night, as they wrap up a three-game
series Thursday afternoon from Great American Ball Park.
Cueto tossed six shutout inning
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards