Cueto, Reds shut down Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

04/22/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Cueto was stellar on the hill and went 2-for-2 at the plate to help the Cincinnati Reds edge the Chicago Cubs, 3-0, in the middle tilt of a three-game set from Wrigley Field.

Cueto (1-1) went seven innings and gave up just four hits and fanned three batters in the process. Francisco Cordero gave up just one hit in the ninth to get his sixth save of the year. With the save he becomes just the 11th player in major league history to record 100 saves in each league.

Jay Bruce went 2-for-4 with a solo homer for the Reds, who have won three of four overall. Willy Taveras and Joey Votto drove in the other runs in the win.

Ted Lilly (2-1) was the hard-luck loser, as he went seven innings and gave up an unearned run on five hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee had two hits each to account for the lion's share of the six hits from Chicago, which saw its three-game winning streak halted.

The Reds opened the scoring in the third. Alex Gonzalez bunted his way on with one-out and took second on Lilly's fielding gaffe. Cueto's bunt single made it first and third, and Taveras' sac fly made it 1-0.

Cincy added another run in the eighth inning. Jerry Hairston Jr. hit a two-out single off Angel Guzman and Votto followed with an RBI double just over the head of Soriano in left to make it 2-0. Edwin Encarnacion went down swinging to end the rally, though.

Bruce opened the ninth with a homer off Kevin Gregg to make it a three-run affair.

Cordero came in to pitch the ninth for the Reds and worked around an Aramis Ramirez single to close the game.

Game Notes

Gonzalez went 1-for-4 and is now two hits shy of 1,000 for his career...Lilly is just 1-6 in 10 career starts versus the Reds. He faced them four times in 2008 and lost all four outings, pitching to an 8.15 ERA. Lilly allowed 16 runs in 17 2/3 innings versus Cincinnati a season ago...In four career starts versus the Cubs coming in, the right-handed Cueto was 1-3 with a 4.68 ERA...Chicago won eight of its 15 games against the Reds last season, including six of the nine encounters contested in the Windy City.

Wwdaum Baseball Betting News

<< Wade, Heat even series in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade finished with 33 points, seven assists and five rebounds, as the Miami Heat evened their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with a 108-93 Game 2 win over the Atlanta Hawks. In Game 1 of

<< Red Sox top Twins in nightcap for seventh straight win
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Bailey's first home run of the season, a three-run shot, led the way as Boston upended Minnesota, 7-3, in the back half of a day-night doubleheader which completed a two-game set at Fenway Park.

<< Wizards, Red Bulls renew Eastern rivalry
Kansas City, KA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Wizards are coming off a dramatic come-from-behind 2-2 draw at Chicago after scoring two goals in the final 12 minutes last weekend. The New York Red Bulls are coming off their first w

<< Blackhawks RW Kane returns to action
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, who missed Game 3 of the club's Western Conference quarterfinal series against Calgary on Monday because of the flu, returned to action for Game 4 on Wednesday.

<< Bannister helps Royals shut out Indians
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Bannister threw six strong innings to lead the Kansas City Royals in a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the middle installment of a three-game set at Progressive Field. Bannister (1-0), makin

Pineiro solid as Cardinals down Mets >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joel Pineiro tossed eight-plus strong innings, as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Mets, 5-2, in the middle test of a three-game series from Busch Stadium. Pineiro (3-0) gave up six hits, two ru

Berkman helps Astros squeak by Dodgers >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman hit a game-tying homer and Ivan Rodriguez singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, lifting the Houston Astros to a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hunter Pence hit a two-ru

Blue Jays edge Rangers in 11 innings >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Millar doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th after Toronto blew a three-run lead in the ninth, as the Blue Jays got past Texas, 8-7, in the middle contest of three-game set from th

Andruw Jones exits Texas-Toronto tilt with knee injury >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Andruw Jones left Wednesday's 8-7 loss in 11 innings to Toronto with an injured right knee. Jones reached first for his only hit in four at-bats by jumping over first base

Tennessee's Smith becomes eligible for NBA Draft >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee junior forward Tyler Smith announced Wednesday he has submitted paperwork to become eligible for this year's NBA Draft, but has not hired an agent, keeping the door open if he wants t

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.