Carpenter aims to pitch Cards past slumping Braves
Baseball Betting Lines
09/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals co-ace Chris Carpenter has recorded 16 wins in a season only twice in his career, He'll be looking to reach that mark again tonight in the second installment of a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves from Turner Field.
Carpenter won a career-best 21 games in 2005 and finished last season with a 17-4 mark. This year the right-hander is 15-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 30 starts and has won six of his last eight decisions.
St. Louis is counting on Carpenter to keep the club within striking distance of a playoff spot. He is coming off a win over rival Cincinnati on Sunday in which he allowed only two runs through 7 1/3 innings.
The right-hander has lasted at least six innings in 12 straight trips to the mound and will face Atlanta for the second time this season. Carpenter beat the Braves on April 27 at Busch Stadium, allowing two runs in six innings of a 5-4 win. He is 3-2 in eight lifetime starts versus Atlanta to go along with a less desirable 5.83 earned run average.
St. Louis put up enough runs in last night's 11-4 win over the Braves for fellow staff ace Adam Wainwright, who yielded three runs and seven hits in eight innings to record his 18th win of the season. Wainwright (18-10) was rattled for all three runs in the first, but settled down after his team posted a five-spot in the top of the second inning.
Skip Schumaker clubbed a two-run homer in the frame and Colby Rasmus ended with a pair of solo homers and four RBI for the Cardinals, winners of four of their last seven games.
"It's definitely not the way we wanted to start out," said Rasmus, who finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored. "But we couldn't do anything about it. We put a five-spot on them, that was huge."
Albert Pujols got into the act with his 37th home run of the season, while Brendan Ryan plated a pair of baserunners to help pull the Cardinals within five games of the National League Central-leading Reds. Cincinnati has lost five in a row to give St. Louis a glimmer of hope.
Meanwhile, the Braves have lost six of their last eight games to fall out of the first place in the NL East. Now sitting a game behind Philadelphia for division bragging rights, Atlanta played poorly in Thursday's setback.
Jair Jurrjens got the nod for Bobby Cox's club and was hammered for seven runs and 10 hits in only 3 2/3 innings, falling to 7-5 on the season.
"Just everything was up," Jurrjens said. "They've got a really good lineup, and they have really good hitters on that team when you leave the pitches up. It seems like I was throwing [batting practice] the whole game."
Derrek Lee clubbed a two-run homer during a three-run first inning for the Braves, who lead the National League Wild Card race by a game ahead of San Francisco, while both Jason Heyward and Eric Hinske drove in a run in the loss. The Giants topped San Diego last night in the opener of their crucial series with the Padres.
Braves rookie Mike Minor hopes to make a major impact tonight for his club and is 3-0 with a 5.33 earned run average over his first five big league starts. After winning three straight trips to the bump, Minor did not record a decision in Sunday's 7-6 loss at Florida, as he was touched for six runs and nine hits in four frames. He struck out five batters.
Minor, a left-hander, will face St. Louis for the first time tonight.
The Cardinals swept a four-game set from the Braves in late April at Busch Stadium and have won five straight in this series.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back on top in the NL East for the first time in more than three months, the Philadelphia Phillies return to the venue where runs have been scarce this evening in the opener of a three-game set against the rival New York Mets
<< Boston's Buchholz squares off with Oakland's Cahill
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though a sweep would have been better, a series victory in
Boston's most recent set has kept its slim playoff hopes alive.
Hoping to make up more ground in the American League Wild Card race, the Red
Sox will send the
<< White Sox return home to open set with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a great start to their most recent road trip, the
White Sox return home licking their wounds a little bit.
After falling further behind the top spot in the American League Central,
Chicago hopes to get its
<< Weaver aims for a win over Mariners at the Big A
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been over a month since Angels starter Jered Weaver
recorded a victory, but a meeting with the Mariners could change that in a
hurry.
Weaver guns for his fifth straight winning decision over Seattle, which begi
<< Astros southpaw Happ takes hill vs. LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.A. Happ can add to Los Angeles' misery this evening when
the Astros continue their four-game set against the free-falling Dodgers at
Minute Maid Park.
Happ, who was 12-4 as a rookie for Philadelphia last season,
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have once again caught fire in September to get themselves back into the postseason races. Tonight they'll go for an eighth straight win when they open a three-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Co
Giants try to further close gap on West-leading Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The battle for National League West supremacy between the
San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres resumes this evening with the second
installment of a four-game series from Petco Park.
The Giants drew first blood with T
Bills place Mitchell on IR, sign Ayodele >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills have placed linebacker
Kawika Mitchell on injured reserve because of a foot injury and signed veteran
linebacker Akin Ayodele to fill the roster spot.
Mitchell was hurt in practice on
Playoff Pickups >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's playoff time in the world of fantasy
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Fortunate
Transfer Flowers cleared to play for Illinois State >>
Normal, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive back Bo Flowers, an Illinois transfer,
was cleared by the NCAA to compete immediately for the Illinois State
Redbirds, the team's athletic department announced.
Flowers, a graduate student at Illinois
FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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