Braves batter injury-riddled Cardinals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2007 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andruw Jones' two-run home run in the first inning ignited an offensive onslaught for Atlanta, as the Braves routed the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-1, in the opener of a four-game set.

The embarrassing loss hurt even more for St. Louis with the in-game announcement that ace Chris Carpenter will undergo Tommy John surgery on his injured right elbow and miss the rest of the season.

Carpenter, who has been on the disabled list for most of the season after pitching on Opening Night, developed swelling and stiffness after his most recent rehabilitation start on July 8.

Cardinals' team physician Dr. George Paletta evaluated Carpenter and recommended surgery. Second opinions by the team physicians of the Angels and Mets, along with the renowned Dr. James Andrews, confirmed Paletta's evaluation. Carpenter will undergo surgery early next week and is not expected to return until some time in 2008.

Jones finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored, while Matt Diaz went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI for the Braves, who rebounded from a sweep to the Cincinnati Reds.

Ageless wonder Julio Franco, signed by the Braves Wednesday after the Mets released him, started at first base for Atlanta. The 48-year-old ripped a two- run single in the fourth to cap a five-run inning.

All of the run support was more than enough for Tim Hudson (10-5), who hurled seven solid innings. The right-hander gave up just one run on five hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

Cardinals starter Mike Maroth (0-3), on the other hand, was tagged for all 10 Atlanta runs on 11 hits over five innings. Maroth, acquired from Detroit in June, has given up 18 runs -- 16 earned -- over his last two starts (10 innings).

David Eckstein knocked in the lone run for St. Louis, which had won three of four.

Carpenter's impending surgery darkened the return of Gold Glove outfielder Jim Edmonds, who singled in three plate appearances.

The game surprisingly started well for the Cardinals as Maroth retired the first two Atlanta batters of the game. However, Maroth walked Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones crushed the first pitch he saw over the left field wall to make it 2-0.

Diaz then led off the second with a mammoth shot to deep center field and Jeff Francoeur and Diaz hit back-to-back RBI singles in the third to make it 5-0.

The Braves then put up a five spot in the fourth inning with two outs and nobody on to blow the game open. Four straight singles by Edgar Renteria, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Francoeur made it 7-0. Diaz's subsequent double chased home a run and Franco's two-run single pushed Atlanta's lead to 10-0.

St. Louis broke up the shutout in the sixth inning on Eckstein's sacrifice fly.

Game Notes

The Cardinals also announced that third baseman Scott Rolen traveled back to St. Louis Wednesday to receive a cortisone shot and check-up on his ailing left shoulder. He is expected to join the team in Atlanta...The Braves optioned pitcher Kyle Davies to Triple-A Richmond before the game to make room for Franco. Atlanta also announced that pitcher Anthony Lerew underwent Tommy John surgery in Birmingham, Alabama.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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