Cardinals seek seventh straight victory in clash with Phils

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home runs are not easy to hit, but the St. Louis Cardinals made it their job in last night's win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The NL Central-leading Cardinals will try to go deep again Tuesday in the second installment of this four-game series at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals were down by two in the fifth inning of Monday's game before Albert Pujols cracked a two-run homer followed by solo shots from Allen Craig and Skip Schumaker one out later to take the lead for good. Randy Winn then led off the sixth inning with a home run for the Cardinals, who went on to post an 8-4 victory, their sixth in a row.

Pujols collected two hits and three runs batted in, while Jon Jay went 2-for-3 with an RBI in a winning effort. Blake Hawksworth managed to pick up the win even though he gave up four runs and 10 hits over six innings of work.

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

St. Louis was coming off a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers and is 5-0 on an eight-game homestand. It also sits a half-game ahead of Cincinnati in the NL Central standings.

The Cardinals have a good shot at staying on top in the division with Chris Carpenter slated to take the mound Tuesday night. Carpenter ended a three- start winless streak (0-2) the last time out on Thursday in a 7-1 win over the visiting Dodgers, as he tossed eight innings of one-run ball with six K's.

Carpenter pushed his mark to 10-3 in 20 starts to go along with a 3.16 earned run average. The right-hander and 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner is 7-2 in 11 home starts this season and will make his ninth career start against the Phillies. Carpenter is 4-2 with a less desirable 5.73 ERA in his first eight appearances against Philadelphia.

The Cardinals are 37-21 in games started by Adam Wainwright, Carpenter and Jaime Garcia this season.

Philadelphia's start of the second half hasn't gone as planned, having dropped two straight and four of five games since the All-Star break. The Phillies, who entered the midway point of the season with a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, got a rough outing from starter Kyle Kendrick last night.

Kendrick was 4-0 in his career against St. Louis before surrendering seven runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings of work. Chad Durbin gave up the only run in relief for the Phillies, who are now six games off the lead in the National League East Division.

"My command was off all night. I was falling behind hitters," Kendrick said.

Shane Victorino had two RBI and Ryan Howard chipped in a pair of hits and knocked in a run in defeat. Jimmy Rollins had an RBI as well for the Phillies, who recently lost three of four games in Chicago and are 18-12 against NL Central foes in 2010.

Jamie Moyer has fared well in his career against St. Louis, going 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 12 games (11 starts), and will take the mound Tuesday. Moyer has lost three straight starts since a personal three-game winning streak and lasted just three innings in Thursday's 12-6 road setback against the Cubs.

Moyer allowed six runs and five hits to fall to 9-9 in 18 starts to go along with a 4.88 earned run average. The veteran lefty is 4-6 in 10 road starts this season.

The Phillies had a four-game winning streak in the Gateway City come to an end last night. They still lead the 2010 season series by a 3-2 count.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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