Bucs shoot for rare win streak in matinee with Cards

Baseball Betting Lines

08/02/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates will try for consecutive wins for the first time in almost a month when they wrap up a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon at PNC Park.

The Pirates ended a four-game losing streak with Wednesday's 15-1 pounding of the Cardinals in the second installment of this series. Ronny Paulino hit a grand slam while Adam LaRoche and Jack Wilson also homered for Pittsburgh, which posted 20 hits and is shooting for back-to-back triumphs for the first time since a four-game win streak from July 3-6.

Freddy Sanchez had four hits as the Pirates won for just the third time in 17 games since the All-Star break. Starter Tony Armas pitched 6 1/3 innings for the win, allowing one run on four hits with five K's and one walk.

Looking to snap a three-start losing streak today is Pirates pitcher Shane Youman, who is 2-3 with a 4.66 earned run average in five starts this season.

Youman has lost his last three outings with a 5.82 ERA to go along with the slide. He last toed the rubber on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies and was saddled with the loss, yielding seven runs -- six earned -- in just four innings of work at Citizens Bank Park.

The left-hander has never faced the Cardinals in his career.

Anthony Reyes will get the nod this afternoon for St. Louis and is in search of his second win of the season. Reyes is having a horrible 2007 campaign, with a 1-10 mark and a 6.11 ERA in 13 starts this season.

Reyes had been 0-10 in 12 starts before earning his first win of the season on Saturday against Milwaukee. He allowed two runs in six innings of a 5-2 victory at Busch Stadium.

The right-hander, who is 0-6 in seven road starts this season, owns a 1-1 mark with a 2.38 ERA in two career starts against Pittsburgh. Reyes was beaten by the Pirates on April 16 after he gave up three runs in five frames of a 3-2 setback in St. Louis.

St. Louis was aiming for a season-high five straight wins last night, but the defending champions were pummeled in their attempt. Aaron Miles homered for the Cardinals, who fell to six games off the lead in the National League Central division. They are also 6 1/2 games behind in the NL wild card race.

Cardinals starter Braden Looper was tagged for seven runs on eight hits with one walk and no strikeouts for the loss.

St. Louis is 7-3 against Pittsburgh this season, including a three-game sweep in the Steel City from April 9-11. The Cardinals are 40-18 in the series since the start of the 2004 campaign.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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