Brewers set sights on NL Central title in opener with Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

09/23/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After failing to clinch their first division title in 29 years on the road, the Milwaukee Brewers return home with the National League Central crown in their sights.

Standing in their way will be Chris Volstad and the Florida Marlins, who play the first of three straight this evening against the Brewers and red-hot starter Yovani Gallardo.

Milwaukee went 4-2 on their final road trip of the season, but lost a three- game series in Chicago to keep its magic number for clinching the division at three. That number was trimmed to two during the Brewers' off day on Thursday after the second-place Cardinals blew a big lead and lost to the Mets, meaning the division belongs to Milwaukee with a win and a loss by St. Louis to the Cubs tonight.

The Brewers closed out their road schedule with a 7-1 setback to the Cubs on Wednesday, scoring their lone run of the game on an error. That wasn't enough to back starter Randy Wolf, who allowed six runs over six innings of work.

Milwaukee went 39-42 as the road team this year, but is an MLB-best 52-23 at home this season. Following this series, the Brewers host the Pirates for three games to close out the regular season and will likely do so with their first division title since winning the American League East in 1982.

"We love playing at Miller Park, it's no secret," said Milwaukee's Jerry Hairston. "So hopefully we play good baseball and clinch (a playoff berth) there."

Gallardo gets the call for the Brewers in this big game and looks to win a third straight start.

The right-hander struck out 12 in a victory over the Phillies on Sept. 11, then set a new career high with 13 punchouts in a win against the Reds on Saturday. Gallardo allowed a run on two hits and two walks over his six innings, improving to 17-10 with a 3.60 earned run average on the season.

"He got after it," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "He had a good fastball, good location and a really nice curveball. He really threw the ball well."

The 25-year-old is a perfect 3-0 in four career starts against the Marlins with a 1.69 ERA. He beat them on June 4 after yielding one earned run over six innings.

Volstad goes the Marlins on his 25th birthday hoping to win for the first time since July 10.

Volstad has lost four straight decisions over nine starts since, but has pitched to a 2.97 ERA in his last five outings and is coming off a terrific start against Washington on Saturday. The right-hander gave up a run on six hits over seven innings, but did not get a decision for a third straight start.

Now 5-12 with a 5.13 ERA on the season, Volstad lost to Gallardo on June 4 even though he allowed three runs over seven innings. He fell to 1-1 with a 1.86 ERA in three starts versus Milwaukee.

Florida embraced its role of spoiler earlier this week, taking two of three from the wild card-leading Braves. Javier Vazquez dominated Atlanta in Wednesday's 4-0 victory, limiting the club to two hits and one walk in the club's fourth victory in six games.

Vazquez also ran his scoreless-innings streak to a franchise-record 25 straight while winning his 12th game.

"He's been the No. 1 guy for us ... at least in the second half of the season," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said of Vazquez. "It's remarkable the way he's come through."

Brett Hayes hit a solo homer and Logan Morrison also went deep in the victory.

The Marlins do come to Milwaukee without closer Leo Nunez, who was placed on the restricted list Thursday and returned to the Dominican Republic to attend a personal matter. He will miss the team's final six games after going 1-4 with a 4.06 ERA and 36 saves this year.

The Brewers swept a four-game series in Florida from June 3-6.

Socceronlinechance Baseball Betting News

<< Angels try to keep postseason hopes alive against Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The LA Angels of Anaheim are counting on Jered Weaver to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when he takes the ball tonight in the opener of a three-game series versus the Oakland Athletics at the Big A. The Angels are thr

<< Royals send Chen to the bump in Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Journeyman lefty Bruce Chen closes out a second consecutive solid season tonight when the Kansas City Royals open a three-game series with the host Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The 34-year-old native of Panama

<< Rangers eye a division crown in opener with Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers are on the cusp of their second straight American League West title and can wrap up the division tonight in the opener of a three-game series versus the Seattle Mariners at the Ballpark in Arlington. Tex

<< Giants bring back Clayton to replace injured Hixon
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have signed wide receiver Michael Clayton to replace the injured Domenik Hixon. Hixon was officially placed on injured reserve because of a torn ACL, ending his season. He was

<< Rockies continue series in Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Pomeranz has made a good first impression over his first two career starts for the Rockies. The highly-touted lefty gets to flash his stuff on the road this evening when Colorado plays the second of four straight games

Chela, Andujar to meet in Bucharest semis >>
Bucharest, Romania (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's finalists -- champion Juan Ignacio Chela and runner-up Pablo Andujar -- were among Friday's quarterfinal winners and will now do battle in the 2011 semifinals at the BRD Nastase

Ricci Bitti re-elected ITF president >>
Bangkok, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francesco Ricci Bitti has been re-elected as president of the International Tennis Federation, the governing body of world tennis. The Italian will serve a fourth four-year team, or through 2

NBA postpones training camps; cancels 43 preseason games >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first casualties of the NBA lockout came, as expected, Friday when the league announced its decision to postpone training camps and cancel 43 preseason games. Representatives of the league's own

Everton hopes to continue dominance over City >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hundreds of millions of dollars may separate Manchester City and Everton, but the Toffees will be eyeing a fifth successive win at Eastlands on Saturday when they visit City. The Citizens boast a

Better Talk Now in hospital >>
Elkton, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Breeders' Cup Turf winner Better Talk Now has been hospitalized with a gastrointestinal problem. Formerly trained by Graham Motion, the gelding is at the New Bolton Center (NBC) in Pennsylvania. Writi

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards