Carpenter aims to pitch Cards past slumping Braves

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09/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals co-ace Chris Carpenter has recorded 16 wins in a season only twice in his career, He'll be looking to reach that mark again tonight in the second installment of a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves from Turner Field.

Carpenter won a career-best 21 games in 2005 and finished last season with a 17-4 mark. This year the right-hander is 15-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 30 starts and has won six of his last eight decisions.

St. Louis is counting on Carpenter to keep the club within striking distance of a playoff spot. He is coming off a win over rival Cincinnati on Sunday in which he allowed only two runs through 7 1/3 innings.

The right-hander has lasted at least six innings in 12 straight trips to the mound and will face Atlanta for the second time this season. Carpenter beat the Braves on April 27 at Busch Stadium, allowing two runs in six innings of a 5-4 win. He is 3-2 in eight lifetime starts versus Atlanta to go along with a less desirable 5.83 earned run average.

St. Louis put up enough runs in last night's 11-4 win over the Braves for fellow staff ace Adam Wainwright, who yielded three runs and seven hits in eight innings to record his 18th win of the season. Wainwright (18-10) was rattled for all three runs in the first, but settled down after his team posted a five-spot in the top of the second inning.

Skip Schumaker clubbed a two-run homer in the frame and Colby Rasmus ended with a pair of solo homers and four RBI for the Cardinals, winners of four of their last seven games.

"It's definitely not the way we wanted to start out," said Rasmus, who finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored. "But we couldn't do anything about it. We put a five-spot on them, that was huge."

Albert Pujols got into the act with his 37th home run of the season, while Brendan Ryan plated a pair of baserunners to help pull the Cardinals within five games of the National League Central-leading Reds. Cincinnati has lost five in a row to give St. Louis a glimmer of hope.

Meanwhile, the Braves have lost six of their last eight games to fall out of the first place in the NL East. Now sitting a game behind Philadelphia for division bragging rights, Atlanta played poorly in Thursday's setback.

Jair Jurrjens got the nod for Bobby Cox's club and was hammered for seven runs and 10 hits in only 3 2/3 innings, falling to 7-5 on the season.

"Just everything was up," Jurrjens said. "They've got a really good lineup, and they have really good hitters on that team when you leave the pitches up. It seems like I was throwing [batting practice] the whole game."

Derrek Lee clubbed a two-run homer during a three-run first inning for the Braves, who lead the National League Wild Card race by a game ahead of San Francisco, while both Jason Heyward and Eric Hinske drove in a run in the loss. The Giants topped San Diego last night in the opener of their crucial series with the Padres.

Braves rookie Mike Minor hopes to make a major impact tonight for his club and is 3-0 with a 5.33 earned run average over his first five big league starts. After winning three straight trips to the bump, Minor did not record a decision in Sunday's 7-6 loss at Florida, as he was touched for six runs and nine hits in four frames. He struck out five batters.

Minor, a left-hander, will face St. Louis for the first time tonight.

The Cardinals swept a four-game set from the Braves in late April at Busch Stadium and have won five straight in this series.

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Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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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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