Gorzelanny shoots for fourth straight win in middle tilt with Cards

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Gorzelanny goes after his fourth straight win this afternoon when the Chicago Cubs play the middle test of their three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

Gorzelanny, who is 5-5 with a 3.12 earned run average, outdueled Roy Halladay to win his third consecutive start on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, holding them to two earned runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

The lefty has faced the Cardinals six times and is 1-3 against them with a 3.82 ERA.

Chicago drew first blood in this set on Friday, as Randy Wells turned in seven scoreless innings, and three different players hit home runs, propelling the Cubs to a 5-0 win. Tyler Colvin, Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano each reached the seats for the Cubs, who have won three of five.

Wells (5-7) won for just the second time this month after scattering five hits while fanning seven with three walks.

"He's pitching with a much better tilt on the ball, his slider's got much better rotation and sharpness to it," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella of Wells. "Now he's starting to mix in his changeups. It's just been a nice turnaround for him."

Jon Jay singled and walked twice for the Cardinals, who have lost two straight after winning eight in a row.

Jeff Suppan (0-6) was tagged in defeat for 10 hits and five runs over six full frames, walking three with no strikeouts. The veteran right-hander hasn't won a game since September 19, 2009, a span of 25 appearances.

"He still gave us a chance in a game where we didn't give ourselves a chance to win because our offense wasn't productive," Cards manager Tony La Russa said of Suppan. "He's a very competitive guy and he's just got to figure out a way to get out of this."

Getting the call for the Cardinals today will be righty Blake Hawksworth, who has won his last two starts. Hawksworth beat the Phillies on Monday, but was not overly impressive in allowing three first inning runs and 10 hits in six innings. He also walked three batters, but improved to 4-5 on the year to go along with a 4.85 ERA.

"I got us in a hole early, but they picked me up and got the 'W'," Hawksworth said after the game.

This will be Hawksworth's first start against the Cubs, but he has pitched to a 2.45 ERA in three relief outings against them.

St. Louis' offense should also get a boost this afternoon with the return of outfielder Ryan Ludwick, who was activated from the 15-day disabled list after missing 23 games with a strained calf.

In 71 games for the Cardinals this season, Ludwick is batting .273 with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in.

St. Louis took two of three from the Cubs earlier in the season at Wrigley.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

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