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Aces are wild: Garland, Johnson square off in Padres-Marlins clashBaseball Betting Lines06/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of aces take to the mound tonight when the San Diego Padres visit Sun Life Stadium for the middle game of a three-game National League weekend series with the host Florida Marlins. Seven-game winner Jon Garland gets the call against the Marlins for the second time this season and sixth in his career, while Florida counters with eight- game winner Josh Johnson, who'll also face San Diego for the second time this season and fifth overall. The Padres, who lead the NL West, took game one on Friday night in Miami, where Will Venable hit a two-run homer in the seventh and Clayton Richard tossed six scoreless innings in a 3-0 triumph. Richard (5-4), who gave up five hits, won for the first time since May 22 at Seattle. He also fanned five batters and walked four. Heath Bell recorded his 20th save of the season. Oscar Salazar knocked in the another run for the Padres, who have won four of their past five games. Florida starter Chris Volstad (4-7) lasted six-plus innings, allowing three runs on seven hits to suffer his first loss since May 28 versus Philadelphia. The right-hander also struck out six without a walk. The teams also played three times in Florida in late April, with the Marlins taking the opener behind Johnson before dropping the final two games, one of which was won by Garland. Johnson, who'll make the 92nd start of his big-league career, has won three straight decisions and eight of 10 overall while posting a microscopic 1.80 earned run average through his first 100 innings. He scattered six hits over eight innings in his last start, striking out nine and walking one in a 4-1 defeat of in-state rival Tampa Bay on June 20. He had perhaps his best performance of the season in the previous matchup with San Diego, going the full nine-inning distance while allowing just three hits and posting 12 strikeouts in a 10-1 rout. Johnson, who's now started twice and come in from the bullpen twice in four career meetings with the Padres, has surrendered just one earned run in 16 innings against them - a 0.56 clip per nine innings. Garland, pitching with his fifth team in five seasons, went six innings and allowed three hits and a run in a 4-1 downing of the Marlins on April 27, striking out a season-high 10. It was the second win in what evolved into six straight for the 30-year-old righty, who was an 18-game winner for the 2005 World Series champion Chicago White Sox. He won 10 with the White Sox in 2007, then 14 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2008 and 11 while splitting time between the LA Dodgers and Arizona a season later. He ended a three-start skid with a 9-4 defeat of Baltimore in his last outing on June 20 and is 3-1 in five lifetime starts against the Marlins.
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Online Sportsbook Football BettingColts give the ‘D’ its dueThe 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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