Reds, Rockies get second half started in Cincinnati

Baseball Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two potential National League playoff teams square off tonight when the Cincinnati Reds host the Colorado Rockies in the opening contest of a three-game weekend series at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds enter the season's unofficial second half in first place in the NL Central, leading the defending division champion St. Louis Cardinals by a half-game.

Meanwhile, the Rockies are second in the NL West -- two games behind San Diego -- but lead the early-stage wild card race by a half-game over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Right-hander Bronson Arroyo gets the start for Cincinnati with a chance to reach double-digit wins for the fourth time in his fifth season with the Reds.

The Key West, Florida native, acquired from the Boston Red Sox for Wily Mo Pena prior to the 2006 season, was a 14-game winner for the Reds that year and won 15 apiece in both 2008 and 2009.

He got No. 9 of 2010 in his final start prior to the All-Star break, scattering seven hits and allowing one run in eight innings of a 3-1 defeat of the New York Mets on July 7.

He's won four of his last five decisions and has pitched at least seven innings in 10 of 18 starts.

Lifetime against Colorado, Arroyo is 1-2 in eight appearances with a 3.98 earned run average.

For the Rockies, towering righty Jason Hammel can extend an unbeaten streak that stretches back nearly two months.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pounder's last loss was May 21 at Kansas City, but since then he's gone 6-0 in nine starts while lowering his ERA from 7.52 after the Kansas City loss to 4.08 following a 4-2 win over San Diego in his last pre- break start on July 10.

A former draft pick of the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Hammel was sent to Colorado early in 2009 after losing a competition for the fifth starting slot to Jeff Niemann.

He thrived with the Rockies, however, winning 10 games and posting a 4.33 ERA in 176 2/3 innings over 34 appearances, including 30 starts.

He's been used exclusively as a starter in 2010 and has logged 90 1/3 innings thus far, allowing 97 hits, 41 earned runs and 24 walks with 72 strikeouts.

He's made one career start against the Reds and got a no-decision after allowing three hits and two runs in 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts.

On Sunday in Denver, ex-Red Matt Belisle's two-run throwing error in the eighth put San Diego ahead for good and Everth Cabrera added a two-run homer in the ninth for insurance in a 9-7 Padres win to close a three-game series against the surging Rockies.

Carlos Gonzalez had a pair of RBI singles to score Jonathan Herrera, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a run-scoring triple while walking and scoring twice. Miguel Olivo went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Colorado, which finished up a 10-game homestand at 8-2.

In Philadelphia, Cole Hamels tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings, while Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge finished off the shutout and the Phillies' four-game sweep of Cincinnati with another 1-0 decision.

Matt Maloney (0-2) came up on the losing end despite a quality start. The former Phillies farmhand yielded one run on four hits and a walk in six innings for the Reds, who lost the first three games in the set in extra innings.

Cincinnati did not score in the final 21 innings in the series.

The Rockies won all seven games versus the Reds last year and have taken nine straight and 14 of the last 15 meetings between the teams.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.