Giants send Lincecum to the hill versus Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum goes after win No. 11 this evening when the San Francisco Giants open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park.

Lincecum has not received a decision in either of his last two outings, but is 10-4 on the season with a 3.12 earned run average. He went eight innings in Arizona on Sunday, but did not factor in the decision of his team's 3-2 win, as he allowed two runs and nine hits. He also struck out five and his 143 punchouts are six short of Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay's National League lead.

The NL's reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner was roughed up by the Dodgers two starts ago, surrendering five runs in 4 2/3 innings. However, he is 4-1 lifetime against the Dodgers with a 3.54 ERA in eight starts.

Lincecum will be trying to get the Giants back on track tonight after the team was held to one hit in Thursday's finale to Florida, a 5-0 loss that also saw rookie Buster Posey's impressive 21-game hitting streak come to an end.

"I had fun with it," Posey, hitting an NL-best .427 in July, said. "I concentrated on winning ballgames as much as possible, but I guess, in a way, it's kind of nice that the attention will go back to that instead of the streak."

The Giants have still won six of eight and are 3 1/2 games back of San Diego in the National League West, while holding a 1 1/2 game edge on the Philadelphia Phillies for the wild card.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, may have hurt its division chances this week, losing the final two games of its three-game set with first-place San Diego. The Dodgers fell 3-2 on Thursday and now sit seven games back of the Padres.

James Loney homered in the loss for the Dodgers, while starter Vicente Padilla allowed two runs on four hits over four innings.

"Padilla wasn't his usual self. He was struggling and when I say struggling, he was fighting for it today," said Los Angeles manager Joe Torre. "He used up a lot of pitches early."

Getting the call this evening will be righty Carlos Monasterios, who gets another shot at the rotation. Monasterios was impressive against the Mets on Saturday, scattering six hits over five scoreless innings, but did not factor in the decision of his team's 3-2 win.

Monasterios has been shuffled between the rotation and bullpen this season and is 3-2 on the year with a 3.30 ERA.

Los Angeles has won six of nine from the Giants this season.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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