Gorzelanny shoots for fourth straight win in middle tilt with Cards

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Gorzelanny goes after his fourth straight win this afternoon when the Chicago Cubs play the middle test of their three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

Gorzelanny, who is 5-5 with a 3.12 earned run average, outdueled Roy Halladay to win his third consecutive start on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, holding them to two earned runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

The lefty has faced the Cardinals six times and is 1-3 against them with a 3.82 ERA.

Chicago drew first blood in this set on Friday, as Randy Wells turned in seven scoreless innings, and three different players hit home runs, propelling the Cubs to a 5-0 win. Tyler Colvin, Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano each reached the seats for the Cubs, who have won three of five.

Wells (5-7) won for just the second time this month after scattering five hits while fanning seven with three walks.

"He's pitching with a much better tilt on the ball, his slider's got much better rotation and sharpness to it," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella of Wells. "Now he's starting to mix in his changeups. It's just been a nice turnaround for him."

Jon Jay singled and walked twice for the Cardinals, who have lost two straight after winning eight in a row.

Jeff Suppan (0-6) was tagged in defeat for 10 hits and five runs over six full frames, walking three with no strikeouts. The veteran right-hander hasn't won a game since September 19, 2009, a span of 25 appearances.

"He still gave us a chance in a game where we didn't give ourselves a chance to win because our offense wasn't productive," Cards manager Tony La Russa said of Suppan. "He's a very competitive guy and he's just got to figure out a way to get out of this."

Getting the call for the Cardinals today will be righty Blake Hawksworth, who has won his last two starts. Hawksworth beat the Phillies on Monday, but was not overly impressive in allowing three first inning runs and 10 hits in six innings. He also walked three batters, but improved to 4-5 on the year to go along with a 4.85 ERA.

"I got us in a hole early, but they picked me up and got the 'W'," Hawksworth said after the game.

This will be Hawksworth's first start against the Cubs, but he has pitched to a 2.45 ERA in three relief outings against them.

St. Louis' offense should also get a boost this afternoon with the return of outfielder Ryan Ludwick, who was activated from the 15-day disabled list after missing 23 games with a strained calf.

In 71 games for the Cardinals this season, Ludwick is batting .273 with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in.

St. Louis took two of three from the Cubs earlier in the season at Wrigley.

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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.