Cardinals, Reds close out heated set in Cincy

Baseball Betting Lines

08/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cardinals and Reds have been fighting in the standings all season long. Yesterday it escalated onto the field.

Tied atop the National League Central, St. Louis and Cincinnati wrap up a three-game set this afternoon less than 24 hours after a wild benches-clearing brawl.

The Cardinals have taken the first two games of this set to move into a virtual tie with the Reds, with St. Louis a few percentage points ahead of Cincinnati.

Prior to Monday's victory, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips had some unflattering words for the Cardinals in which he said he hated the club and called them complainers. During the first inning of Tuesday's 8-4 Cardinals win, Phillips got into it with St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina after he tapped both Molina and the home plate umpire on the shin with his bat.

Molina, though, kicked Phillips' bat away before stepping on home plate and engaged in a heated argument with his opponent. Both benches emptied and the players, as well as St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and Cincinnati skipper Dusty Baker, started jawing.

"I was ready to start the game. He touched me," Molina said. "The comment he made [Monday] that we have nothing over here ... why did you touch me then? You are not my friend. You don't have to touch me. If we are not here for you, then you are not my friend."

The melee then moved towards the backstop and the Reds' Scott Rolen, a former Cardinal, went at it with ex-teammate Chris Carpenter, while Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto found himself pinned against the backstop and began throwing wild kicks. One appeared to connect with St. Louis' Jason LaRue, who had a gash above his left eye and apparently suffered a slight concussion.

Both managers were ejected, but no players.

"Afterwards, I just turned around and I've got Cueto kicking me in the back with his spikes," Carpenter said. "It's super unprofessional. I don't know where he learned how to fight."

The Cardinals were already up 1-0 at the time of the incident and Molina homered in the second to double the advantage. Though the Reds scored twice in the third to tie the game, getting one of those runs on a Phillips ground out, St. Louis went ahead for good with a three-run sixth inning.

Matt Holliday ended with four hits and three RBI and Molina drove in a pair of runs for the Cardinals, who have won four of five overall and nine of 14 over the Reds so far this year, taking five of eight in Cincinnati.

These two clubs wrap up their season series from Sept. 3-5.

Cueto suffered the loss, his first since June 18, after giving up five runs -- four earned -- over 5 1/3 innings and Drew Stubbs drove in two runs for the Reds, who lost their first series since the All-Star break (6-1-1) and are in danger of being swept in three games by the Cardinals at home for the first time since May 2-4, 2005.

"Regardless of anything that happened it's all about wins and losses," Phillips said. "We're in the race and that's what we need to do, we need to win."

The Reds figure to have their hands full today with Adam Wainwright slated to take the mound for the Cardinals. The right-hander has won two straight starts and is pitching to a 1.28 earned run average over his last eight outings, going 6-1 while allowing one run or less in seven of those games.

Wainwright is coming off a two-hit, three-walk shutout of the Marlins on Friday, his second of the season and eighth of his career. He is 16-6 on the season with a 2.07 ERA, but just 5-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 road starts.

The 28-year-old is 2-3 with a 4.68 ERA in his career versus the Reds. He has faced them twice this year, both times in Cincinnati, and was tagged for four runs over six innings in a loss the last time they met on May 15.

The Reds counter with Bronson Arroyo, who has also won consecutive starts and is 5-2 over his last seven outings.

Arroyo hasn't allowed an earned run over his last two outings, yielding a pair of unearned runs on a win over Atlanta on July 31 before hurling seven shutout innings of five-run ball versus the Cubs on Friday.

The 33-year-old righty is 12-6 on the year with a 3.83 ERA and 7-9 with a 4.49 ERA lifetime against the Cardinals. He has split two decisions versus them this year in three starts, including a two-run complete game-victory at home on May 16.

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Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.

Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.

Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

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NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&amp;M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6

For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com