Silva set to return as Cubs battle Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cubs starter Carlos Silva displayed a lot of heart in beginning the season 8-0 over his first 11 starts. In an odd twist, that's exactly what has kept Silva off the mound since August 1.

Silva is scheduled to take the mound Tuesday against the NL Central-rival Houston Astros at Wrigley Field, and underwent a cardiac ablation to correct an abnormal heart rate. In his last start August 1 at Colorado, Silva left the game after just one-third of an inning and allowed two runs on two hits and a walk. Following surgery and a stint on the disabled list, Silva made a pair of rehab assignments for Class A Peoria.

The right-hander was then evaluated by manager Mike Quade and pitching coach Larry Rothschild and will try to get back to his winning ways tonight. Silva is only 2-5 with a 5.58 earned run average in his last nine starts, with the Cubs going 2-7 during that span. He won his last start on July 26 in a 5-2 triumph at Houston, as he pitched five innings of one-run ball. In nine career meetings (4 starts) with the Astros, Silva is 3-1 with a 4.63 ERA.

Silva, who is 10-5 in 20 overall starts this season, is holding opposing hitters to a .266 batting average.

Chicago has a chance for its first series win over Houston after taking Monday's series opener by a 5-4 score thanks to home runs by Marlon Byrd and Geovany Soto. The Astros put up four runs in the second inning, but Blake DeWitt's RBI single and Byrd's two-run homer in the third pulled the Cubs within a run. Jeff Baker stroked an RBI double in the fifth to even the score and Soto put the Cubs ahead for good with a solo homer in the eighth.

Cubs starter Casey Coleman allowed four runs, eight hits and five walks in six innings, while Andrew Cashner earned the win for a scoreless eighth. Carlos Marmol notched his 28th save with a perfect ninth.

"We want to leave on a good note," Soto said of ending the season in positive fashion. "All these young guys, they have something to prove. They want to open some eyes. They want to get looked at. We want to play hard."

The Cubs have won four of their last five games.

Houston entered Monday's game winners of two straight and 11 of 14 games, but a poorly placed pitch from Wilton Lopez ruined the party. Lopez allowed Soto's go-ahead home run in the eighth to absorb the loss for the Astros, who got a homer from Chris Johnson and an RBI apiece out of Jeff Keppinger and Hunter Pence.

"You just have to try to continue to scrap against them," Astros center fielder Michael Bourn said. "We had some opportunities we didn't take advantage of."

Wandy Rodriguez started for the 'Stros and permitted four runs on eight hits and a walk with six K's in the no-decision.

Taking the ball for Houston this evening will be Nelson Figueroa, who is 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 games (4 starts) this season. Figueroa previously took the hill last Wednesday in a 5-2 win over St. Louis, as he held the Cardinals to two runs and six hits in five innings.

Figueroa, a right-hander, is 1-5 in 12 lifetime games (six starts) in this series and threw two innings of relief against the Cubs in a 5-2 loss back on July 26 this season. He did not record a decision that day.

Houston has got the better of the Cubs for much of this season, having taken eight of 13 meetings between the clubs in 2010. The Astros have won four of the seven matchups held at Wrigley Field as well.

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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

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