Cubs carry seven-game winning streak into San Diego

Baseball Betting Lines

06/02/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs hit the road with a seven-game winning streak in tow and will attempt to keep rolling in tonight's clash with the San Diego Padres from Petco Park.

Chicago completed a perfect week-long homestand and a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with Sunday's 5-3 victory at Wrigley Field. The win improved the current National League Central leaders to a major league-best 36-21 on the season.

Aramis Ramirez went 3-for-3 with an RBI in yesterday's triumph, while Jim Edmonds doubled and tripled while knocking in a pair of runs for the Cubs, who also received a solo home run out of Alfonso Soriano.

Chicago starter Sean Gallagher (3-1) struck out a career-high eight batters over 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits to pick up the win. Four Cub relievers combined to hold the Rockies scoreless the rest of the way, with Kerry Wood pitching a perfect ninth to earn his 14th save.

The Cubs are now an outstanding 26-8 at Wrigley Field this year, but the long- suffering franchise hasn't matched that success on the road. Chicago is 10-13 in enemy ballparks so far this season and has lost five straight series as the visitor.

Chicago has also struggled on the road against the Padres, who are 6-1 at Petco Park against the Cubs over the previous two seasons.

The Cubs will be putting their ace on display in the opener of this seven-game trek, which begins with three straight meetings with San Diego and continues with a four-game set at Los Angeles. Carlos Zambrano will toe the rubber tonight and puts a string of six consecutive winning decisions on the line, as the excitable right-hander has not lost since an April 11 setback at Philadelphia.

Zambrano delivered another excellent performance on Wednesday, although he did not factor in the decision of the Cubs' 2-1 comeback win over the Dodgers. The All-Star hurler hurled eight innings and held Los Angeles to just one run on six hits.

The native Venezuelan, whose 2.33 earned run average for the season ranks third among NL pitchers, did get credit for a victory when he faced the Padres at Wrigley on May 12. In that game Zambrano allowed three runs on six hits through seven innings.

For his career, Zambrano is 5-1 with a 2.19 ERA in overall starts against San Diego.

The Padres were slated to start Shawn Estes in tonight's opener, but the veteran had to be placed on the disabled list over the weekend after he broke his left thumb after slipping on a flight of starts on Saturday. The club will instead turn to newly-acquired Cha Seung Baek.

Baek came to the Padres this past Wednesday in a trade with the Seattle Mariners and had an impressive debut with his new club on Friday. Baek struck out the side in his lone inning of work against the San Francisco Giants and wound up receiving the win in San Diego's 7-3, 13-inning decision.

The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by the Mariners on May 21 after going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA over 10 appearances, including one start.

San Diego had won five times in a six-game stretch before falling in extra innings to San Francisco on Sunday. The Giants rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 10th to pull out a 4-3 decision, with Jose Castillo knocking in the game-winning run with an infield single.

The Padres had taken a 3-1 lead on Adrian Gonzalez's two-run homer in the top of the 10th, but closer Trevor Hoffman (0-4) was rocked for four hits and walked one while recording just a single out in the bottom of the frame.

San Diego starter Randy Wolf was very sharp, as the left-hander yielded just one run and four hits while striking out five over six innings.

Chicago won three of four games from the Padres at Wrigley Field in May, but San Diego is 13-6 against the Cubs since the start of the 2006 campaign.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.

Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.

Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

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NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&amp;M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6

For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com