Cubs hope to stay hot versus Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The confidence level in the Windy City has to be high after how easily the Chicago Cubs handled the two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies this weekend at Wrigley Field.

Chicago's chances of keeping the spirits high just got a bit easier with the lowly Houston Astros in town Monday for the opener of a three-game series between NL Central inhabitants. The Cubs took three of four contests from the Phillies and are coming off Sunday's 11-6 beating behind big contributions from Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto.

Soriano and Soto both finished 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBI off Phils ace Roy Halladay, while Derrek Lee drove in three runs for Chicago, which has won seven of its last 11 games and is 3-1 on a 10-game homestand. Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro both had three hits in a winning cause.

"We swung the bats really well today off a good pitcher," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said on the team's site. "You put six runs on the board against Roy Halladay, and you have to feel good about your offense."

Tom Gorzelanny took the hill for the Cubs last night and evened his mark at 5-5 after holding the Phillies to three runs -- two earned -- on five hits and five walks over 6 2/3 innings.

The Cubs will attempt for more success tonight with Carlos Silva on the hill, but he's only 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA over his last six starts since opening the 2010 campaign 8-0 over his first 11 trips to the mound. Silva lasted just 1 1/3 innings his last time out on July 11 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and gave up six runs on six hits in a 7-0 loss.

Silva fell to 9-3 overall and raised his earned run average to 3.45. The righty will take on the Astros again this season and beat them on April 16 by allowing just two unearned runs over seven innings of a 7-2 victory. Silva is 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA in seven career games (2 starts) against Houston.

The Astros lost the last two portions of a three-game series at Pittsburgh and have dropped four of six games overall. In Sunday's 9-0 drubbing at PNC Park, Pirates starter Paul Maholm threw a three-hit shutout to stymie Houston's lineup.

Angel Sanchez had a team-high two hits and Chris Johnson recorded the other base hit for Houston, which lost starter Roy Oswalt to a left ankle issue after the right-hander was struck by a line drive. He lasted four innings and gave up two runs and seven hits with five strikeouts.

"I couldn't really finish pitches," Oswalt said on Houston's website. "Couldn't really get through pitches, and left two balls kind of spinning in the plate, and got a few hits."

Oswalt, who is probable for his next start, remains one win shy of Joe Niekro's franchise record 144 victories. The bullpen did no better in relief on Sunday, as Chris Sampson and Wilton Lopez both allowed two runs and Casey Daigle was reached for three more.

Wandy Rodriguez hopes to get a bit more support when he makes his 19th start of the season tonight. Rodriguez had a personal three-game winning streak stopped on July 11 in a 4-2 loss versus St. Louis, as he surrendered three runs on four hits in six innings of work.

Rodriguez, who is 2-6 in nine road starts this season, fell to 6-11 this season to go along with a 4.97 earned run average. He faced the Cubs in a 3-2 win on April 18, but did not figure into the decision after giving up two runs and six hits in seven innings. The lefty is 4-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 14 career starts against Chicago.

Houston has won four of six matchups with Chicago this season, one year after the Cubs took 11 of 17 matchups between the two clubs.

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2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds

The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.

Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”

“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”

MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:

Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:

Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1

Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17

Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1

Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1

Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1

Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1

Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5

Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1

Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1

Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1

Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50

Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1

Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1

Best Animated Feature Film:

"Cars": 1/3

"Happy Feet": 2/1

"Monster House": 20/1

Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:

"Water" – Canada: 22/1

"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2

"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1

"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1

"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10

Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:

"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5

"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2

"Helmer & Son": 5/2

"The Saviour": 6/1

"West Bank Story": 7/2

Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:

"Babel": 7/4

"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1

"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20

"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4

"The Queen": 5/4

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

"Babel": 11/4

"The Departed": 1/2

"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2

"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10

"The Queen": 20/1

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10

Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1

Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1

Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5

Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1

Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1

Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1

Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8

Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1

Film To Win Most Oscars:

Dreamgirls: 2/3

Pans Labyrinth: 6/5

The Departed: 6/1

The Queen: 11/1

Babel: 15/1

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1

Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1


Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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