Cubs come alive in series finale against Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

08/04/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto and Blake DeWitt each hit a three-run homer, as the Chicago Cubs crushed the Milwaukee Brewers, 15-3, to avoid getting swept.

It was a big offensive day for the Cubs, who recorded a season-high in runs and totaled 16 hits -- including a career-high four from rookie Starlin Castro. Soto finished 3-for-5 with five runs batted in, while Tyler Colvin added a solo homer.

Ryan Dempster (9-8) gave up three unearned runs in six innings for Chicago, which dropped the first two contests of this series, which featured two lopsided games. The Brewers won Monday's opener by an 18-1 score.

Milwaukee starter Manny Parra (3-9) allowed six runs on six hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. He also struck out eight, but lost his fourth consecutive decision.

Jim Edmonds went 2-for-3 for the Brewers, who have lost six of eight overall.

Following Colvin's two-out homer in the third, Milwaukee took the lead in the fifth. With runners on the corners and two outs, a throwing error by Jeff Baker allowed Edmonds to score. Corey Hart followed with a two-run double to make it a 3-1 contest.

But the Cubs exploded for six runs in the sixth to take command. With two on and one out, Soto hit an RBI single. After Parra struck out Alfonso Soriano, DeWitt and Baker followed with run-scoring singles.

Parra was removed in favor of Todd Coffey as Ramirez came up as a pinch- hitter and slammed a three-run shot to left-center to make it a 7-3 game.

Soto's three-run blast off LaTroy Hawkins in the seventh extended Chicago's lead to seven, and the hosts added five runs in the eighth. Derrek Lee hit an RBI double, Soto added a run-scoring single, and DeWitt tacked on his three- run shot, which just sneaked over the right field fence.

Game Notes

Hawkins was ejected in the seventh after hitting Soriano with a pitch. Brewers manager Ken Macha was tossed shortly thereafter for arguing with home plate umpire Tom Hallion's decision...Carlos Zambrano pitched a scoreless seventh for the Cubs, who announced Wednesday he would be re-inserted into the rotation. He will get the ball Monday against San Francisco, taking the spot held by the injured Carlos Silva (irregular heartbeat). Zambrano has not started since June 25, when a blowup in the dugout resulted in a month-long suspension.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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