Cellar-dwellers face off again in Bucs-Nats clash

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh lefty Paul Maholm can make it two straight wins for the Pirates and end his own four-decision skid tonight, when the Washington Nationals return to PNC Park for the middle test of a three-game weekend series.

The Pirates at least stalled a recent slide of five losses in six games in Friday's opener, when Garrett Jones hit two doubles and drove in three runs in an 8-5 win.

Ryan Doumit homered among three hits for the Pirates. Pedro Alvarez drove in two runs, while Jose Tabata and Ronny Cedeno each had two hits.

Bucs starter Zach Duke (7-12) lasted five-plus innings, giving up four runs, five hits and three walks while fanning five for the win.

Danny Espinosa hit his first career home run for the Nationals, who have lost three straight. Adam Dunn and Justin Maxwell each drove in a run in defeat.

Livan Hernandez (9-10) was pounded for eight runs on eight hits and two walks in just 4 1/3 innings to take the loss for Washington.

Maholm, the eighth overall pick in the 2003 draft, picked up his seventh win of the season on Aug. 3 after a six-inning effort in a 7-6 defeat of Cincinnati. He's 0-4 in five starts since, however, allowing 25 runs on 40 hits in 25 innings while his earned run average has climbed from 4.59 to 5.18.

He retired just 10 batters in his most recent outing, allowing nine hits and eight runs against the Chicago Cubs in a 14-2 embarrassment at Wrigley Field on Monday.

The Mississippi native has faced the Nationals six times in 154 big-league starts but has yet to record a win against them, losing three decisions while posting a 5.30 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. Maholm is 5-8 in 14 home starts in 2010.

Fellow lefty John Lannan seeks his first career defeat of the Pirates for Washington as well this evening.

The Long Beach, NY native is 0-3 in five previous outings against Pittsburgh, including a no-decision in Washington's 7-5 home win on June 9, when he was tagged for 10 hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Lannan has gone 4-3 in eight starts since, however, to even his season record at 6-6. He beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2, Sunday at Nationals Park after allowing one run on eight hits over 7 2/3 innings.

He is 4-3 in 10 road starts this season.

Washington swept a three-game set from the Pirates back in June and had won five in a row in this overall series prior to Friday's setback.

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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.

NFL Betting

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