Cubs try to run win streak to 10 games against Maddux and Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

06/04/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs are one game away from producing their first double-digit win streak in nearly a decade. The red-hot club will attempt to maintain its awesome recent form when it goes up against an old friend in tonight's finale of a three-game series with the San Diego Padres.

Chicago relied once again on its devastating offense to extend its current run to nine games on Tuesday. The Cubs swatted three home runs and pounded out 11 hits to deal the host Padres a 9-6 defeat at Petco Park last night.

Geovany Soto led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo homer that snapped a 3-3 tie, while Mark DeRosa belted a two-run shot later in the frame to lengthen the margin to three runs.

Alfonso Soriano later put the contest out of reach with a three-run blast in the eighth that gave Chicago a comfortable 9-3 lead.

The offensive surge helped out starter Jason Marquis (3-3), who managed to pick up the victory despite walking five Padres in five innings and giving up three runs. Kerry Wood finished things off with a scoreless ninth to notch his 16th save of the season.

Bryan Corey (1-1) suffered the loss after surrendering three runs and four hits in 1 1/3 innings in relief of starter Wilfredo Ledezma, who was touched for three runs and walked three over the first 4 2/3 frames.

Adrian Gonzalez led San Diego offensively with three hits and a run batted in. The standout first baseman tops the National League with 55 RBI and is batting .520 (13-for-25) with 11 RBI during a six-game hitting streak.

Chicago last won 10 consecutive outings as part of a 12-game surge from May 19-June 2, 2001. The Cubs also improved to 5-1 against the Padres this season with Tuesday's triumph, although San Diego is 13-8 in this series since the start of the 2005 campaign.

Ex-Cub Greg Maddux will be in charge of the task of slowing down Chicago's dangerous attack tonight. The legendary right-hander will also be trying to halt a four-start winless streak since earning his 350th career victory on May 10.

Maddux's drought began with a rough start at Wrigley Field on May 15, when the future Hall of Famer was tagged for four runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 4-0 setback. He's recorded three no-decisions since that appearance, although Maddux has posted a solid 2.76 earned run average during that stretch.

The 42-year-old was last in action Friday in San Francisco and allowed two runs and five hits over six innings of work.

Maddux was drafted by the Cubs in 1984 and spent his first seven major league seasons with the organization from 1986-92. He returned to Chicago in 2004 and pitched another two-plus seasons with the Cubs before being traded to the Dodgers midway through the 2006 campaign.

In 23 career starts versus his former club, Maddux is a stellar 12-4 with a 2.71 ERA.

Chicago counters tonight with Ted Lilly, who has won four straight decisions but hasn't fared particularly well in either of his last two starts.

Home runs have done Lilly in recently. He yielded two of them in an ugly three-inning stint against Colorado on Thursday and served up three long balls in six frames at Pittsburgh on May 25. For the season, the left-hander has given up 12 homers in just 65 innings.

Lilly wound up with a no-decision in both of those games, although he was rocked for seven runs (4 earned) and eight hits in his brief outing against the Rockies.

The 32-year-old racked up a season-best 11 strikeouts in a victory over the Padres on May 14, which improved Lilly to 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA in five games (4 starts) against San Diego. He allowed four runs and six hits over six innings in that last matchup with the Padres.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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