Pirates try to stop skid at seven games against Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southpaw Wandy Rodriguez will try to get back on a winning track tonight when the Houston Astros visit PNC Park in game two of a three- game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A 28-year-old Dominican, Rodriguez had won consecutive starts on July 1 and July 6, allowing a combined seven hits over 16 scoreless innings in defeating Colorado and the New York Mets.

The string ended on July 15, however, when he was racked for nine hits and seven runs -- including three home runs -- in just 3 1/3 innings of a 7-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

He is 2-2 in five lifetime starts against the Pirates with a 4.20 earned run average in 30 innings.

Former first-round draft pick Paul Maholm will be looking for consistency upon taking the mound for Pittsburgh.

The Mississippi State alumnus has followed a win with a loss three times since June 15, when he defeated the Chicago White Sox, 4-2, with seven strong innings. He lost to Seattle five days later, then beat Florida, lost to Washington, beat the Cubs and lost to Atlanta.

Maholm faced Houston in his fourth start of the season in April 24, tossing nine innings of scoreless three-hit ball in Pittsburgh's 3-0 victory. The win was his first of the season overall and leveled his record against the Astros to 2-2 in five starts with a 4.55 ERA in 29 2/3 innings.

On Friday, Carlos Lee's first-inning, two-run homer proved enough for Houston to edge Pittsburgh, 2-1, and prevent the struggling Pirates from getting their seventh straight win versus the Astros this year.

Chris Burke finished 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Astros, who have won two of three. Mark Loretta and Morgan Ensberg both added a pair of hits in the win.

Astros starting pitcher Roy Oswalt (9-6) left in the seventh inning with a chest injury. After he gave up a leadoff double to Ronny Paulino, Oswalt complained of chest discomfort to manager Phil Garner and a trainer. Oswalt had been performing well from the mound prior to the exit, and allowed one run on seven hits with four strikeouts.

Adam LaRoche and Paulino both had a pair of hits for the Pirates, who lost their seventh straight after coming into this series having been swept in three games at Atlanta and then in three games at home against Colorado.

Tom Gorzelanny (9-5), shooting for his fourth straight winning decision, allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over seven innings for the Bucs.

The Pirates got their season off to a promising start when they swept the Astros in Houston from April 2-4 to open the season. The club then hosted Houston from April 24-26 and took all three games of that set as well.

It was a quick turnaround for a Pirates team that lost 13 of the 16 games they played against the Astros last season. That included seven losses in 10 home games in 2006.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

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MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.

"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."

Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.

"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."

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