Astros try for series win over Nationals

Baseball Betting Lines

06/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros hope to post their second winning series in more than a month when they close out a four-game set Thursday afternoon versus the Washington Nationals at Minute Maid Park.

After losing the opener of this series on Monday by 10 runs, the Astros have rebounded with consecutive victories and recorded a 5-1 victory last night behind five decent innings from starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez improved to 3-7 on the season with five innings of one-run ball and eight strikeouts.

"Tonight I felt comfortable with my breaking ball," Rodriguez said. "It was the best I had all year."

Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer and Hunter Pence knocked in a pair of runs for the Astros, who walked off with an 8-7 win in the bottom of the ninth of Tuesday's matchup on Lance Berkman's two-run single.

The Astros have won three of four contests and are aiming for their second series triumph since sweeping St. Louis in three games from May 11-13. Their previous series win was a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh from April 23-25.

Taking the mound for Houston Thursday will be Brian Moehler, who will make his second straight start and 14th appearance of the season. Moehler was destroyed in his previous outing on Saturday in a 12-2 loss at Cincinnati, as he was reached for eight runs and 10 hits in only 2 2/3 innings. The righty fell to 0-2 this season and raised his earned run average to 7.29. Moehler is 3-4 with a 4.97 ERA in 14 career meetings (9 starts) with Washington.

Meanwhile, the Nationals have dropped two in a row and four of their last five games. In last night's four-run setback in the Lone Star State, Adam Dunn went 3-for-4 with the team's lone RBI and Nyjer Morgan had a pair of hits.

Washington starter John Lannan was sent packing with his fifth loss of the season, permitting five runs -- two earned -- on eight hits and two walks.

"It was an OK outing," Lannan said on the Nats' website. "I wish I could have done better. Changeup felt good. When I needed to throw a strike, I did. The curveball felt pretty good."

Lannan didn't get much help with three errors from shortstop Ian Desmond and 13 strikeouts from his hitters. Washington has fanned 13 times in each of the previous two games.

Taking the ball for the Nationals today will be J.D. Martin, who is set to make his second start of the season. The second-year righty made his 2010 debut in last Saturday's 4-2 loss at San Diego and gave up four runs -- one earned -- in six innings. He also struck out five batters.

Martin has never faced the Astros in his career.

Washington and Houston split six meetings a season ago.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.