NL playoff hopefuls square off in San Francisco

Baseball Betting Lines

08/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants return home seeking to bounce back from a tough road trip, while the Cincinnati Reds aim to continue their success on a West Coast swing when the two playoff hopefuls open up a key three-game series tonight from AT&T Park.

The Reds have gone 5-1 thus far on their three-city trek against National League West opponents and won for the eighth time in nine contests overall with Sunday's 5-2 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The surge has extended Cincinnati's advantage over second-place St. Louis to 3 1/2 games in the NL Central standings.

Joey Votto went 2-for-4 with three RBI in yesterday's matchup with the Dodgers and snapped a 2-2 tie with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning. The All-Star first baseman's 29th long ball of the year helped make a winner out of starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo (14-7), who held Los Angeles to two runs and struck out six over the first seven frames.

"I didn't have overwhelming command today," said Arroyo afterward. "But I did get [the Dodgers] to hit the ball where our guys were at. In the sixth, I still had some gas in the tank but I told them to watch me."

Nick Masset and Francisco Cordero each threw a scoreless inning in relief of Arroyo to close out the victory, while Votto provided some insurance by delivering a two-run single in the top of the ninth.

The win was Cincinnati's 12th in its past 14 games on the road and improved the Central Division front-runners to 36-26 as the visitor this season. The Reds now get to test their skills against one of the better home teams in the NL, with the Giants having compiled a solid 37-23 mark at AT&T Park so far in 2010.

The Reds have prevailed in four of their last six visits to San Francisco, however, and split a four-game set with the Giants in Cincinnati back in June.

San Francisco comes home having lost five of its past seven outings and just went 2-4 on a challenging six-game trip through fellow NL Wild Card contenders Philadelphia and St. Louis. The Giants dropped the final two bouts of their weekend series with the Cardinals and were dealt a 9-0 defeat in Sunday's finale.

The Giants mustered only three singles, two of which came of the bat of Pat Burrell, against St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia, with the rookie needing only 89 pitches to record his first career shutout.

Barry Zito (8-8) wasn't nearly as effective for San Francisco, as the former American League Cy Young Award winner lasted a season-low 3 2/3 innings and was tagged for five runs on seven hits.

"[Zito] had trouble getting the ball where he wanted and [the Cardinals] took advantage of it," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

Bochy will be counting on a better showing from scheduled starter Matt Cain in tonight's opener of the team's critical nine-game homestand. A performance like the one the right-hander produced against the Reds earlier this season would certainly satisfy the San Francisco skipper.

Cain scattered seven hits and two walks while going the distance in a 3-0 Giants' victory at Cincinnati on June 8, one of nine wins the former first- round draft pick has posted this year. He hasn't had the same success lately, however, having gone 0-2 with a 4.24 earned run average over his last three starts.

The 25-year-old was hurt by poor defense in his most recent assignment, an 8-2 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday in which three of the five runs he surrendered in his six-inning stint were unearned.

Being back on the AT&T Park mound could help Cain get back on track, as he's 6-3 with an excellent 2.62 ERA in 12 home starts for the season. He faced the Reds seven times previously and owns a 3-3 record with a 3.21 ERA over the course of those games.

The Giants enter tonight's clash two games behind Philadelphia for the lead in the NL Wild Card race and are six back of first-place San Diego in the NL West.

Edinson Volquez will take the ball for the Reds in this series opener and will be out to improve off a poor showing last Wednesday in Arizona, where the hard-throwing righty was rocked for five runs in just 4 2/3 innings while obtaining a no-decision against the Diamondbacks.

Volquez had started out August in terrific fashion, coming through with three straight outstanding starts to begin the month. The 2008 All-Star registered wins over Atlanta and Florida and yielded a mere three runs in a combined 17 2/3 innings during that strong stretch.

The 27-year-old missed the first half of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and is 3-1 with a 4.98 ERA in seven starts since coming back from the injury. He's been wild at times, however, having issued 24 walks in 34 1/3 innings of work.

Volquez has won each of his two career starts against San Francisco, both of which took place during a 17-win campaign in 2008. In an appearance at AT&T Park that season, the native Dominican struck out 10 batters while holding the Giants to just one run over seven innings.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.