Latos tries to end Padres 10-game slide in meeting with Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Mat Latos' quick emergence into a frontline pitcher is a big reason why the San Diego Padres have stood atop the National League West for the majority of the 2010 campaign. With his team mired in by far their worst stretch of the season, the talented youngster will try to play the role of stopper when the slumping Padres begin an important three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at Petco Park.

San Diego had owned a seemingly-comfortable 6 1/2-game lead on second-place San Francisco in the division standings as of August 25, but the margin has dwindled down to a single game due to an untimely 10-game losing streak that was extended with Sunday's 4-2 setback to Colorado. It's the club's longest skid since it dropped a franchise-worst 13 in a row from May 8-21, 1994.

"We've got to turn this around cause there is a lot of baseball yet to be played," said San Diego manager Bud Black after yesterday's game. "I've said it before, it's in us cause I've seen it, but we haven't done it the last 10 games."

While the Padres are still in good position for making the playoffs, history isn't on their side. Only two teams -- the 1951 New York Giants and 1982 Atlanta Braves -- have advanced to the postseason after losing 10 straight contests or more that year.

San Diego had tied Sunday's tilt at 2-2 on Miguel Tejada's two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Rockies went back in front on Melvin Mora's two-RBI single off reliever Tim Stauffer (3-3) in the top of the seventh.

Stauffer recorded just one out after taking over for starter Clayton Richard, who limited Colorado to two runs -- one earned -- while throwing 100 pitches over the first six innings.

Tejada finished 3-for-4 for San Diego, which mustered only seven hits as a team and has totaled a mere 23 runs over the course of its losing streak. The Padres have scored two times or less in seven of those defeats.

Latos hasn't needed a whole lot of support as of late, however, as the right- hander has yielded two runs or fewer in each of his 14 starts and has amassed an 8-1 record with a stellar 1.51 earned run average over that span. He's struck out an impressive 104 batters in 89 1/3 innings during that time period as well.

The 22-year-old hasn't won in either of his past two starts, but was able to keep the Padres in both games before they eventually lost. He held Philadelphia to one run in a seven-inning no-decision on August 27, then permitted one run and four hits while fanning 10 Arizona hitters in just six innings against the Diamondbacks this past Wednesday.

Latos, whose 2.25 ERA for the season is tops in the NL at the moment, hasn't had much luck in past matchups with the Dodgers as well. He's 0-2 in three lifetime starts against Los Angeles despite an overall ERA of 3.21, and was handed a tough 2-1 loss at Dodger Stadium on August 3 after surrendering a pair of runs in six innings.

Los Angeles is in a bit of a rut of its own as well, having lost six of its last eight tilts to all but kill the team's postseason hopes. The Dodgers also had trouble generating offense in their last game, managing only three hits off Jonathan Sanchez and two San Francisco relievers in Sunday's 3-0 defeat to the Giants.

The Dodgers struck out a total of 13 times on the evening, with Sanchez racking out nine punchouts over the game's initial seven innings.

"Sanchez was electric and threw a lot of strikes," said Los Angeles manager Joe Torre. "We've put pressure on our starters because we've given them nothing to work with."

Hiroki Kuroda (10-12) did pitch well for the Dodgers in a losing cause, lasting eight innings and permitting three runs on six hits while registering eight strikeouts. The Japanese righty had allowed just one run over his first six frames before giving up a two-run homer to Juan Uribe in the seventh.

The Padres will have a good chance of ending their slide if Dodgers scheduled starter Vicente Padilla repeats his most recent performance. Against NL East- leading Atlanta on August 15, the veteran was tagged for eight runs and eight hits before exiting after 4 1/3 innings of his team's 13-1 loss. Padilla was placed on the 15-day disabled list the following day due to a bulging disc in his neck.

The right-hander acquitted himself awfully well in an August 4 clash against the Padres, though, with Padilla striking out nine San Diego batters while firing a two-hit shutout at Dodger Stadium that night. The effort improved him to 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 18 lifetime appearances against the Padres, nine of which have been starts.

Los Angeles has won seven of its 12 meetings with the Padres this season and are 4-2 in games played at Petco Park between the teams in 2010.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.