Padres shoot for another win over sagging Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

08/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres are making sure that the Chicago Cubs don't get to play spoiler for a second straight series.

The Padres aim tonight for a third straight victory overall and second in a row at Wrigley Field, where they continue a four-game set versus the Cubs.

The Cubs took two of three from St. Louis over the weekend to knock the Cardinals out of first-place in the National League Central. The Padres, though, made sure that the Cubs didn't get a chance to impact the standings again on Monday, as they scored the game's first five runs en route to a 9-5 triumph.

Miguel Tejada had four of San Diego's 15 hits, drove in two runs and also scored twice for the Padres, who have won seven of eight. They also snapped a five-game slide at Wrigley Field and increased their lead atop the NL West to four games over San Francisco.

"He hits all pitches and hits good pitching," Padres manager Bud Black said about Tejada. "We've seen him work the left-field line, we've seen him hit the ball in the left-field gap, we've seen him drive the ball to right-center and we've seen him single to right."

Chris Denorfia added three hits, two RBI and two runs scored for San Diego, and Kevin Correia became the fourth Padres pitcher this season to reach 10 victories after yielding just five hits over six shutout innings.

Jon Garland is also a 10-game winner, and he will look to improve on his 11-8 mark and 3.41 earned run average with the Padres this year tonight.

The right-hander has split his last four starts despite a 2.45 ERA and is coming off a victory over the Pirates on Thursday in which he threw six scoreless innings of one-hit, four-walk ball.

Garland, 30, is 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA in 10 career starts versus the Cubs, six of those starts.

Garland likely won't have to face Derrek Lee tonight after the Chicago first baseman received an epidural shot in his back on Monday due to a bulging disk. Lee, who has homered in three straight games, sat out last night's opener and could miss the next few days of action.

Kosuke Fukudome had three hits and drove in two runs last night, while Blake DeWitt added a two-run homer for a Cubs team that has lost four of six and 15 of 19.

Tom Gorzelanny took the loss in Monday's opener, allowing five runs over 6 1/3 innings.

Chicago hopes to avoid an early hole tonight with Randy Wells set to take the hill. The 27-year-old is 0-3 over his last four starts and is coming off a no- decision versus the Giants on Thursday.

Wells allowed seven runs -- six earned -- on eight hits over five innings in that game. The righty was also touched for three homers, giving him six allowed over his four-game winless drought.

"I can't keep putting the team in a hole like that when I go out and pitch," said a frustrated Wells. "It's not professional, it's not acceptable. I just chalk it up as a bad day and move on to the next one."

Wells is 5-10 with a 4.60 ERA this year and faces the Padres for the second time in his career tonight. That first meeting came on May 23 of last season, and he took the loss after yielding three runs over seven frames.

The Padres and Cubs are meeting for the first time since San Diego took five of nine matchups a year ago. San Diego, however, was swept in three games at Wrigley Field from May 12-14 of last year.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The 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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