Astros, Brewers to begin NL Central clash

Baseball Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bottom-feeders in the NL Central Division get together this evening in Houston, where the Astros will entertain the rival Milwaukee Brewers for the first of three straight games at Minute Maid Park.

Milwaukee enters Friday's opener of the series fresh off a dazzling performance by starting pitcher Dave Bush, who hurled 7 1/3 innings of no-hit ball in Thursday's 6-1 decision over the Philadelphia Phillies. He lost the bid on Matt Stairs' pinch-hit homer to right with one out in the eighth.

Bush (1-0) gave up two hits in 7 2/3 innings of work, while striking out four batters and walking three. Mitch Stetter pitched the rest of the way to preserve the victory and help Milwaukee to its second straight win and third in four tries.

Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer and Bill Hall added a solo shot for the Brewers, who got two hits and three RBI out of Prince Fielder. Milwaukee is now 3-3 on a nine-game road trip.

Braun is batting .327 with 11 homers and 30 runs batted in through 25 games against Houston.

Yovani Gallardo gets the nod for the Brewers on Friday and is 1-1 with a 4.58 earned run average in three starts this season. Gallardo posted a no-decision his previous time out against the New York Mets, allowing just five hits over six shutout innings of his team's 1-0 loss. Gallardo, who split his first two starts of the season, struck out seven and walked two batters.

The righty owns a perfect 2-0 mark and a 0.00 ERA through 15 innings pitched in two career starts against Houston.

Houston will continue its 10-game homestand tonight and had its bid for a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers stopped with Thursday's 2-0 setback in the series finale.

Miguel Tejada finished 2-for-4, while Darin Erstad and Michael Bourn collected the other two hits for the Astros, who got a strong showing from starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez (1-2) surrendered one run on five hits in six frames with a pair of walks and four K's to suffer the loss.

The Astros are 3-4 so far on the residency and will send Felipe Paulino to the mound Friday for his second start of the season. Paulino took the hill on Sunday versus Cincinnati and did not record a decision despite tossing six scoreless innings of three-hit ball in a 4-2 loss.

The right-hander is 0-1 with a 12.86 ERA in two career appearances (1 start) against Milwaukee.

The Brewers went 8-7 against the Astros last season, but compiled a 2-4 ledger at Minute Maid Park. These two teams have split the last six matchups in the series.

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September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA		 4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich		 9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson		 5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com