Silva set to return as Cubs battle Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cubs starter Carlos Silva displayed a lot of heart in beginning the season 8-0 over his first 11 starts. In an odd twist, that's exactly what has kept Silva off the mound since August 1.

Silva is scheduled to take the mound Tuesday against the NL Central-rival Houston Astros at Wrigley Field, and underwent a cardiac ablation to correct an abnormal heart rate. In his last start August 1 at Colorado, Silva left the game after just one-third of an inning and allowed two runs on two hits and a walk. Following surgery and a stint on the disabled list, Silva made a pair of rehab assignments for Class A Peoria.

The right-hander was then evaluated by manager Mike Quade and pitching coach Larry Rothschild and will try to get back to his winning ways tonight. Silva is only 2-5 with a 5.58 earned run average in his last nine starts, with the Cubs going 2-7 during that span. He won his last start on July 26 in a 5-2 triumph at Houston, as he pitched five innings of one-run ball. In nine career meetings (4 starts) with the Astros, Silva is 3-1 with a 4.63 ERA.

Silva, who is 10-5 in 20 overall starts this season, is holding opposing hitters to a .266 batting average.

Chicago has a chance for its first series win over Houston after taking Monday's series opener by a 5-4 score thanks to home runs by Marlon Byrd and Geovany Soto. The Astros put up four runs in the second inning, but Blake DeWitt's RBI single and Byrd's two-run homer in the third pulled the Cubs within a run. Jeff Baker stroked an RBI double in the fifth to even the score and Soto put the Cubs ahead for good with a solo homer in the eighth.

Cubs starter Casey Coleman allowed four runs, eight hits and five walks in six innings, while Andrew Cashner earned the win for a scoreless eighth. Carlos Marmol notched his 28th save with a perfect ninth.

"We want to leave on a good note," Soto said of ending the season in positive fashion. "All these young guys, they have something to prove. They want to open some eyes. They want to get looked at. We want to play hard."

The Cubs have won four of their last five games.

Houston entered Monday's game winners of two straight and 11 of 14 games, but a poorly placed pitch from Wilton Lopez ruined the party. Lopez allowed Soto's go-ahead home run in the eighth to absorb the loss for the Astros, who got a homer from Chris Johnson and an RBI apiece out of Jeff Keppinger and Hunter Pence.

"You just have to try to continue to scrap against them," Astros center fielder Michael Bourn said. "We had some opportunities we didn't take advantage of."

Wandy Rodriguez started for the 'Stros and permitted four runs on eight hits and a walk with six K's in the no-decision.

Taking the ball for Houston this evening will be Nelson Figueroa, who is 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 games (4 starts) this season. Figueroa previously took the hill last Wednesday in a 5-2 win over St. Louis, as he held the Cardinals to two runs and six hits in five innings.

Figueroa, a right-hander, is 1-5 in 12 lifetime games (six starts) in this series and threw two innings of relief against the Cubs in a 5-2 loss back on July 26 this season. He did not record a decision that day.

Houston has got the better of the Cubs for much of this season, having taken eight of 13 meetings between the clubs in 2010. The Astros have won four of the seven matchups held at Wrigley Field as well.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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