Wainwright goes for win No. 18 in Steel City

Baseball Betting Lines

08/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Getting a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates hasn't been too difficult to achieve these days. With the St. Louis Cardinals sending out arguably the National League's best pitcher of this season tonight, another loss could be in the works for the team with baseball's worst record.

Wainwright will attempt to become the first 18-game winner of the 2010 campaign when the Cy Young Award candidate takes the mound against the downtrodden Pirates in the second of three straight meetings between the NL Central foes from PNC Park.

Pittsburgh lost for the 13th time in its last 15 games with a 10-2 setback to the Cardinals in Monday's opener of this series. The perennial basement dwellers were also held to two runs or less for the 11th time in the club's past 12 contests.

That statistic doesn't bode well for a matchup against Wainwright, the major league leader in earned run average this season (2.06) who also sports an excellent 17-7 record for the year. The All-Star right-hander has given up one run or fewer in eight of his last 10 starts and came away with a victory in seven of those tests.

Wainwright does enter tonight's clash off a rare loss, however, after he was reached for three runs over seven innings in a 3-2 defeat to Milwaukee last Wednesday. The standout hurler had won three consecutive starts prior to that result, a stretch which began when he limited the Pirates to one run through seven frames on August 1.

The 28-year-old followed up that gem with back-to-back road triumphs over Florida and the Chicago Cubs in which he did not allow a run and yielded a mere four hits over a combined 16 innings.

Wainwright also bested the Pirates at PNC Park back in May and sports a 7-2 record with a 4.73 ERA in 16 career appearances (12 starts) against the Bucs.

St. Louis notched its third straight win and closed within 2 1/2 games of Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central with Monday's verdict. Albert Pujols quickly put the Cards on top with a three-run homer in the top of the first inning, with Yadier Molina tacking on an RBI single later in the frame to help starter Kyle Lohse win for the first time in over three months.

Both Pujols and Molina finished 3-for-5 to pace a 14-hit attack for St. Louis, with Molina adding a run-scoring double in the fifth inning.

Lohse (2-5), making only his second start since May 22 due to a forearm strain that required surgery, held the Pirates to two runs and struck out four over 5 1/3 effective innings. The righty took a shutout into the bottom of the sixth before serving up a two-run homer to Garrett Jones.

Pittsburgh's Ross Ohlendorf wasn't as fortunate. The tough-luck pitcher faced only two batters before exiting with an apparent shoulder injury, but still managed to receive his 11th loss in 12 decisions.

"We will know more [Tuesday]," said Pirates manager John Russell about Ohlendorf's status. "He had some tightness and soreness in the back of his shoulder."

Ohlendorf walked Skip Schumaker to begin the game and then surrendered a single to Jon Jay, with both men scoring when Pujols greeted substitute Sean Gallagher with the 399th homer of his illustrious career.

"You want to make sure you get on the board right away," said Pujols. "I put my best swing of the night [on the pitch]."

With the Pirates' bullpen taxed due to yesterday's circumstances, Russell will be counting on a long effort from scheduled starter Paul Maholm tonight. The left-hander will be trying to break out of a three-start losing streak that has left him with a 7-12 overall mark for the season.

Maholm's latest defeat took place at home against Florida on Thursday, when he permitted four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The former first-round pick is now 5-8 with an unimpressive 5.69 ERA in 13 PNC Park starts this year.

Since tossing a three-hit shutout against Houston on July 18, Maholm is 1-5 with a brutal 8.07 ERA in six subsequent outings and has allowed four or more in runs in five of those assignments.

The 28-year-old was also tagged for six runs (four earned) in just 3 1/3 innings during a loss to Wainwright and the Cardinals back on May 9, which dropped him to 3-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 11 career starts against St. Louis.

The Cardinals are now 9-4 at PNC Park since the start of the 2009 season and have won three of four bouts between the teams held in the Steel City this year. They've also taken 12 of the last 14 overall games in the series, including six of seven bouts so far this season.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

NFL Betting Lines

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.