Rockies hope to extend charge as they battle Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Don't look now, but the Colorado Rockies may about to be putting together one of those strong September runs that has propelled them into the postseason in years past.

After climbing back into the National League West race with a needed sweep of the division leader in their last series, the Rockies will have their playoff legitimacy tested when the team with the best record in the Senior Circuit, the Cincinnati Reds, pays a visit to Coors Field for a four-game set which begins this afternoon.

Colorado has prevailed in 10 of its past 14 contests and pulled within 4 1/2 games of free-falling San Diego in the NL West standings after winning all three meetings with the Padres over the weekend. The Rockies completed the sweep with Sunday's 4-2 triumph in which Melvin Mora came through with a tie- breaking two-run single in the top of the seventh inning.

"We've done a great job in this series and as of late of taking advantage of things that are there in front of us," said Colorado manager Jim Tracy after Sunday's result. "At this time of year, that is what you have to do."

September surges are certainly nothing new to the Rockies. The club won 14 of its final 15 regular-season tests to claim the NL Wild Card during its memorable 2007 season, and went 10-1 to start the month last season to nail down another playoff berth.

Troy Tulowitzki homered and also knocked in a pair of runs during yesterday's victory, while Carlos Gonzalez finished 3-for-5 for Colorado to raise his NL- leading average to .337. The standout outfielder is batting a scorching .529 (27-for-51) with six homers and 16 RBI over the course of a current 13-game hitting streak.

Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa (6-4) held the sputtering Padres to two runs over the first six innings, with relievers Matt Belisle and Huston Street combining for three scoreless frames the rest of the way.

Colorado now returns home to take on a tough Cincinnati squad that tops the NL with a 79-57 record and holds a seven-game advantage on second-place St. Louis in the Central Division, although the Cardinals closed the gap a bit by taking two of three matchups from the Reds this past weekend.

St. Louis came through with a 4-2 come-from-behind win in Sunday's rubber match, with ex-Rockie Matt Holliday's three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning providing the deciding margin.

Cincinnati had broken a scoreless tie on Orlando Cabrera's two-run double in the top of the fifth, but mustered just five other hits off Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter and three relievers on the afternoon.

Homer Bailey (3-3) gave up Holliday's go-ahead blast and allowed four runs in all while striking out four batters in six innings of work.

The Reds still lead the NL in both team batting average and runs scored, but their potent offense figures to receive a challenge from Colorado ace Ubaldo Jimenez in today's opener. The 2010 All-Star Game starter is locked in a three-way tie for the league lead with 17 wins, even though he's been stuck on that number for more than a month now.

Jimenez has gone 0-4 over five starts that followed an August 4 verdict over San Francisco, but can't be solely to blame for his drought. The hard-throwing right-hander has posted a 3.00 earned run average over that winless stretch, with the Rockies scoring two times or less in each of those defeats.

The native Dominican had some more tough luck this past Wednesday in San Francisco, where he limited the Giants to two runs on four hits while striking out 10 over eight strong innings. Nonetheless, he came out on the short end of a 2-1 decision.

Jimenez has been tough to beat at Coors Field this year, however, with the 26- year-old sporting an 8-1 mark along with a 3.16 ERA in 12 home starts. In four career encounters with the Reds, he's 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA.

Aaron Harang draws the assignment for the Reds in today's opener and will be making his second start since coming back from a two-month stint on the disabled list because of recurring back spasms. The towering right-hander pitched four innings in his return and allowed three runs (one earned) on eight hits while walking three batters in Tuesday's no-decision versus Milwaukee.

Harang is 6-7 with a 4.92 ERA over 18 starts this season, but only one of those wins has come on the road. The veteran has fared well at hitter-friendly Coors Field in the past, however, having compiled a 2-1 record with a 3.15 ERA over three previous starts at the spacious venue.

The 31-year-old is 4-2 lifetime against the Rockies and has a 3.00 ERA over those six starts.

Harang was on the mound for Cincinnati's last win at Coors Field, which took place on August 22, 2008. The Reds have lost six in a row to the Rockies in Denver following that outing and are just 3-15 over the last 18 meetings between these teams.

Cincinnati did win two of three bouts against Colorado at Great American Ball Park from July 16-18, however.

Wwwffmastermind Baseball Betting News

<< Villanova loses starting defensive end
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending FCS national champion Villanova has lost sophomore Marlon Johnson, its only returning starter on the defensive line, to a season-ending ACL injury. Johnson, a defensive end, suffered the injury d

<< Phillies bring up Robertson, Worley to start Monday
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies bolstered their bullpen Monday with two additions, bringing up lefties Nate Robertson and Mike Zagurski, and recalling Vance Worley from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start Monday

<< Rays, Red Sox start series at Fenway
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays can deal the final blow to the Boston Red Sox' playoff hopes this week, as the American League East rivals open a three-game set at Fenway Park. The Rays come into tonight's opener trailing the New York

<< Tigers hope to play spoiler against White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers' postseason chances have probably gone by the wayside. However, they will get a chance to play spoiler this week and open a four-game series with the playoff-hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.

<< O's, Yanks open set in the Bronx
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have to be wondering which A.J. Burnett will show up this afternoon when they open a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. After an awful August that saw him go 0-4 with a 7.8

Giants target first place as they continue road trip in Arizona >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With first place in the National League's West Division now within their grasp, the San Francisco Giants continue a critical road trip today with the first of three straight meetings with the Arizona Diamondbacks from Chase F

Latos tries to end Padres 10-game slide in meeting with Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Mat Latos' quick emergence into a frontline pitcher is a big reason why the San Diego Padres have stood atop the National League West for the majority of the 2010 campaign. With his team mired in by far their worst stretch o

Astros try to remain hot in Chicago >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recently red-hot lefty Wandy Rodriguez and his similarly streaking Houston teammates try to make it three straight wins when the Astros head to Wrigley Field today for the first of three consecutive games with the host Chicag

Division rivals collide as Mariners visit A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-year lefty Brett Anderson can pitch the Oakland Athletics a game closer to .500 and keep them an outside contender in the American League playoff race today, when the team hosts the Seattle Mariners for the first of th

Cardinals to begin critical road trip with clash vs. Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a much-needed series win, the playoff-hopeful St. Louis Cardinals know they still have a lot of work to do. St. Louis continues that uphill battle this afternoon with the opener of a three-game series at Miller

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .