Cards seek to gain further ground on first-place Reds

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09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright tries once again to become the National League's first 18-game winner when the St. Louis Cardinals continue their three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds today at Busch Stadium.

Like his team, Wainwright has hit the skids as of late, losing three straight starts for the first time in his career while allowing 11 runs in 19 innings of those outings to raise his earned run average to a still-impressive 2.30.

Wainwright's last loss came in Washington on Sunday, as he allowed four runs and six hits in five innings to fall to 17-9 on the year.

"It definitely stings more when you know your team needs wins and you pitch like that," Wainwright said after that game. "I'm pretty ticked about that. I try to be the stopper, not the guy that continues the losing."

Wainwright's last win came at the expense of the Reds back on August 11, when he tossed seven scoreless innings. He is 3-3 lifetime against them with a 4.01 ERA in 12 games, seven of which have been starts.

The 29-year-old right-hander has been dominant at home this season, having posted an 11-1 mark with a 1.42 ERA in 13 starts.

St. Louis picked up a game on the NL Central-leading Reds in the opener of this set on Friday, as Jaime Garcia kept an unbeaten streak against Cincinnati intact with 6 2/3 effective innings and Jon Jay set the tone with a first- inning RBI triple and run scored in the Cardinals' 3-2 win.

Garcia (13-6) won his fourth start in as many tries versus the Reds this season by limiting surging Cincinnati to six hits and two runs while striking out six.

"It's a big win for us, no matter who we were playing," Garcia said. "I see it now a little bit different, that it's a big win against them. But before the game I was just trying to treat it like any team. Just go out there and don't try to do too much."

Ryan Franklin picked up his 23rd save with a spotless ninth to give the Cardinals their fifth straight win against the Reds. Skip Schumaker collected two hits and an RBI in the much-needed win that snapped St. Louis' season-high five-game skid.

The last time these two teams met the Cardinals earned a three-game sweep that gave them sole possession of first place in the division. Since then Cincinnati had won 14 of 18 while the Cards went 5-13 prior to Friday's result, which cut the Reds' lead in the division to seven games.

Bronson Arroyo (14-9) suffered the loss for giving up three runs and six hits in six innings. Paul Janish provided a solo home run in the loss that stunted the Reds' four-game win streak.

"There's not as much pressure, but tonight would have taken a lot of pressure off of us if we had got one tonight," said Arroyo after the game. "Now we know we have to grind it now just to get one [win]. We've got the two best pitchers in the National League going [against us] the next two days. Tonight was huge. We've got two games left, anything can happen."

Cincinnati will turn to rookie left-hander Travis Wood, who is 4-2 with a 3.53 ERA, for today's contest. Wood did not get a decision on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, as he allowed three runs and 10 hits in five innings of his team's 7-5 win.

Wood has never faced the Cards.

The Cardinals have won 11 of 16 games versus the Reds this 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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