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09/18/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The power surge of Ryan Braun is pushing Milwaukee closer to its first division championship since 1982.
Braun finished 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and four RBI, while Mark Kotsay ripped a three-run double as the Milwaukee Brewers thumped the Cincinnati Reds, 10-1, last night. The victory, combined with St. Louis' loss at Philadelphia, reduced Milwaukee's magic number to five for winning the NL Central.
The last time Milwaukee celebrated a baseball division championship, the Brewers were playing in the American League. They captured the AL East in 1982 before losing in seven games in the World Series to the Cardinals.
Braun is a big reason why the Brewers are atop the standings. He has homered four times in his last four games and has eight RBI in his last five contests.
Yuniesky Betancourt also cracked a solo home run for the Brewers, winners in four of their last five games.
Yovani Gallardo (17-10) worked six spectacular innings, giving up one run on two hits, while fanning a career-high 13 batters.
"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."
Yonder Alonso homered for the Reds, losers of two straight and six of 10.
Edinson Volquez (5-6) was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked three.
Zack Greinke has allowed two earned runs or less in 12 of his last 13 starts and hopes to keep the pressure on the Reds this afternoon. The righty is 0-1 over his last two starts thanks to poor offensive support, as the Brewers have posted two runs in that span. He's 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three career games vs. Cincinnati.
Dontrelle Willis will try to avoid a dubious feat today for Cincinnati. The left-hander is already the first Reds pitcher to begin a season 0-6 since Homer Bailey finished the 2008 season winless in six decisions and the first southpaw to do it since Jim Merritt began 0-11 in 1971 before ending 1-11. No Reds pitcher has started a season 0-7 since righty Brian Reith in 2001, when at 0-7 he established the club record for the most losses to begin a Reds career.
On the positive side for Willis, lefties are hitting just .137 against him, and he has given up just two extra-base hits to lefty batters, both on July 24 against Atlanta. He's 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA in six games vs. Milwaukee.
Dusty Baker's next win will be the 1,480th of his managerial career, tying him with Hall of Famer Earl Weaver for 21st on the all-time list.
Cincinnati has won eight of its 15 meetings with the Brewers this season.
<< NL East champion Phils continue set with Cards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champagne was flowing inside the clubhouse of the
Philadelphia Phillies last night after they secured a fifth straight NL East
championship. The team gets back to work tonight with a goal of securing home-
field advantage th
<< Cubs seek sweep of Astros at Wrigley
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran right-hander Ryan Dempster aims to snap a month-
plus victory drought today when his Chicago Cubs host the Houston Astros in
the finale of their three-game weekend series at Wrigley Field.
Dempster, a 34-year-old
<< Rivera eyes saves record in finale with Jays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mariano Rivera can become the all-time saves leader this
afternoon when the New York Yankees play the rubber match of a three-game
series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Rivera pitched a perfect ninth inning a
<< Angels send Weaver to hill in Baltimore on short rest
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles try to play spoiler once again this
afternoon when they go for a sweep in the finale of their three-game series
with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
It won't be easy, though, as the Angels will sen
Verlander takes aim at win No. 24 in Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Verlander tries to become the first Tigers pitcher
to win 12 straight starts this afternoon when Detroit wraps up a four-game
series with the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum.
Verlander's latest masterpiece came on
Indians, Twins wrap up set in Minneapolis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Masterson aims for his first career victory against
the Twins as the Indians try to finish off a three-game sweep today at Target
Field.
Cleveland is out of the race in the AL Central, but has a chance to finish in
Giants try to stay hot in Colorado >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Matt Cain faces Colorado for the 26th time in
his career today when the surging San Francisco Giants head to Coors Field for
the finale of a four-game series with the Rockies.
The Giants won their seventh stra
D'Backs, Saunders hope to avoid San Diego's brooms >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Saunders hopes to stop the bleeding for the Arizona
Diamondbacks this afternoon when the National League West leaders try to
avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Arizona lost its
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.”
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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