Cueto, Reds blank Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Cueto dealt eight scoreless innings, and Joey Votto slugged his league-leading 25th home run in Cincinnati's 7-0 win over Houston in the middle installment of a three-game set.

Cueto (10-2) allowed four hits while walking one and striking out six for Cincinnati, which has won all five of its games this season in Houston. Jordan Smith finished the shutout by retiring the Astros in turn in the ninth.

Votto slugged a two-run home run in the first inning and finished 2-for-4, while Orlando Cabrera had three hits and scored twice and Laynce Nix added three hits and a pair of runs driven in.

Roy Oswalt (6-12) suffered a rare defeat to the Reds after yielding six runs on nine hits over five frames during which he walked one and struck out three for the Astros, who have dropped three of their last four.

Oswalt, the subject of trade speculation as the deadline looms seven days away, was denied for a second straight start a win that would have tied him with Joe Niekro for the franchise's all-time lead with 144.

Votto's opposite field blast into the Crawford Boxes in left field put the Reds ahead three batters into the game.

Ramon Hernandez led off the second with a long home run to left, his first since June 21, to make it 3-0 in favor of the visitors.

Cabrera and Votto opened the third with singles and scored when Nix lashed a double into right-center. Nix advanced to third on a deep fly out and scored on a two-out single by Hernandez, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

The Astros had only one runner advance to second base through seven innings before putting together a mild threat in the eighth.

Chris Johnson singled and reached second base on a fielding error by Cabrera on a throw from Brandon Phillips, who fielded a Jason Castro grounder and tried to start a double play. However, Cueto got pinch-hitter Jason Bourgeois to pop up, froze Michael Bourn on a called third strike and induced Sanchez to ground out to end the inning and his performance.

Chris Heisey hit his fourth pinch-hit home run of the season off Chris Sampson in the ninth to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Oswalt had never allowed more than four earned runs in 31 career starts against Cincinnati before Saturday night...He is 23-3 in his career against the Reds but has lost his two starts to them this season and has not beaten them since September 25, 2008...Oswalt made his 303rd career appearance to move past Octavio Dotel into eighth place on the Astros all-time list. Houston has scored 10 runs in 69 innings while Oswalt has been on the mound in his 12 defeats...Cueto beat the Astros for the first time in his career...He had lost his first four decisions to them, including three in Houston...The Reds lead the season series, 7-1...Hernandez has hit three home runs this season against Houston, the other two coming on May 29...Cincinnati improved to 32-11 when scoring first.

Gamblig Baseball Betting News

<< Jyles, Blue Bombers crush Eskimos
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Jyles threw for one touchdown and ran for two more, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers picked up a decisive 47-21 win over the Edmonton Eskimos at Canad Inns Stadium in Manitoba. Jyles, who was making the

<< Houston's struggles continue at Columbus
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew extended their lead atop Major League Soccer's Eastern table with a 3-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night at Crew Stadium. Edgar Renteria scored in the first half, and An

<< Giants' Velez hit by foul ball
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants outfielder Eugenio Velez left Saturday's game against Arizona after being hit in the head by a foul ball. During the top of the fourth inning, the Giants' Pat Burrell fouled a bal

<< Isner, Fish reach final in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded American John Isner advanced to the final of the Atlanta Tennis Championships after defeating Kevin Anderson in three sets. Isner will have an opportunity for his second career title agai

<< Loney's HR in 13th gets Dodgers past reeling Mets
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Loney hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the 13th to lift Los Angeles to a 3-2 win over New York in the third meeting of a four-game set. George Sherrill (1-1) tossed a scoreless

Young, Baker carry Twins over Orioles >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delmon Young went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer to help back seven strong innings from Scott Baker, as the Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-2, in the continuation of a four-game set. Bake

Rays finally end long losing streak in Cleveland >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist's replay-reviewed three-run homer began a stretch of six unanswered runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays finally snapped their losing streak in Cleveland with a 6-3 win over the Indians. Carlos Pena als

Blue Jays edge Tigers, who lose Ordonez, Guillen >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista knocked in two runs to back a solid outing from Shaun Marcum as Toronto clipped Detroit, 3-2, in the second of a four-game set from Comerica Park. Vernon Wells drove in the other for the

Conrad's slam during eight-run eighth helps Braves cook Fish >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Conrad hit his second career grand slam during an eight-run eighth inning, as the Atlanta Braves rallied past the Florida Marlins, 10-5, in the second test of a three-game set between these two NL

Orioles' Tatum leaves with hand injury >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles catcher Craig Tatum left Saturday's 7-2 loss to Minnesota with a right hand injury. In the top of the seventh inning with the Twins' Jason Repko at the plate, Tatum was hit on the t

2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.