Arizona continues road trip in Houston

Baseball Betting Lines

05/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks will resume a lengthy 11-game road trip tonight with the first of four straight games against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

They'll also be sending Cesar Valdez to the mound for his major league debut in place of injured starter Kris Benson, who's on the disabled list with a shoulder problem. Valdez will be called up from Triple-A Reno and was 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA in four starts for the Triple-A affiliate. Valdez, a right-hander, was Arizona's minor league pitcher of the year in 2008.

The Diamondbacks hope their young hurler can stop a three-game losing streak, as they dropped the final three portions of a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field over the weekend. In Sunday's 10-5 defeat in the series finale, Edwin Jackson fell to 1-3 in his first season with Arizona and gave up eight runs and 11 hits over four innings of work.

"You can't really pitch according to if the hitters are hot. There's going to be hot hitters on every team," Jackson said. "You just have to execute pitches, and right now I'm just not doing a good job of executing pitches."

Rusty Ryal had two hits, including a home run, and two RBI for the Diamondbacks, who got two hits and a pair of RBI from Stephen Drew. Justin Upton also drove in a run in defeat. Arizona is 3-4 on the trek and fell to 4-9 away from the desert this season.

Houston hasn't been playing too hot either as evidenced by its six-game losing streak after consecutive losses at the hands of Cincinnati and Atlanta. The Astros tried salvaging the finale of a three-game series against the Braves in Dixie, but dropped a 7-1 decision on Sunday.

Astros starter Bud Norris was reached for seven runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings of work to absorb the loss. Jeff Keppinger drove in the only run for Houston, which will open a seven-game homestand tonight versus Arizona and San Diego.

"We just had one bad inning. Sometimes that blows over and it can take over a game," 'Stros center fielder Michael Bourn said. "For the most part, we do some things well. We just haven't put it all together."

Winless Houston starting pitcher Felipe Paulino hopes to put it all together when he toes the rubber Monday night at Minute Maid Park. Paulino has dropped three straight starts and is 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA in four outings this season. He last toed the rubber in a 6-4 loss to the Reds on Wednesday, allowing six runs -- two earned -- and six hits in five innings of work.

The right-hander has no record and a 3.38 earned run average in two career relief appearances against the D'Backs, spanning 5 1/3 innings.

Arizona won five of nine matchups with Houston a season ago and is unbeaten in the past four matchups between the clubs.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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