Reds, Leake hope to pad lead in NL Central in finale with Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Mike Leake can finish off a series sweep and keep the Cincinnati Reds in first place this afternoon when they close out a three- game set with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

The Reds lead the National League's Central Division by a half-game over St. Louis after a 7-0 defeat of Houston on Saturday. The Cardinals dropped their second straight, 6-5, to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Johnny Cueto dealt eight scoreless innings and Joey Votto slugged his league- leading 25th home run in Cincinnati's win.

Cueto (10-2) allowed four hits while walking one and striking out six for the Reds, which has won all five of its games this season in Houston. Jordan Smith finished the shutout by retiring the Astros without incident in the ninth.

Votto slugged a two-run home run in the first inning and finished 2-for-4, while Orlando Cabrera had three hits and scored twice and Laynce Nix added three hits and a pair of runs driven in.

Roy Oswalt (6-12) suffered a rare defeat to the Reds after yielding six runs on nine hits over five frames during which he walked one and struck out three for the Astros, who have dropped three of their last four.

Leake, who skipped from Arizona State to the big leagues this spring, has faced the Astros twice this season while recording an April 28 win in Houston and a no-decision on May 30 in Cincinnati. In those two starts, he's combined to allow 12 hits and a run in 13 innings while walking five and striking out eight.

He was 5-0 on the season before a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 16, and has recovered to go 2-0 in five starts since - including an 8-7 win over Washington on July 20.

The 22-year-old from San Diego is 3-0 in seven road starts.

Houston's Wandy Rodriguez faced the Reds in a May 28 start in Cincinnati and was a 15-6 loser after being raked for eight hits and eight runs in 3 1/3 innings. He's 6-7 in 17 starts against Cincinnati with a 4.52 earned run average.

Rodriguez was a wobbly 3-10 after a 9-3 loss to Texas in a June 18 interleague matchup in Houston, but has won four times in five starts since - including an 11-5 defeat of the Cubs in Chicago on Monday.

The 31-year-old is 4-5 at Minute Maid Park this season.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship

(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.

MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.

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