Richard, Padres continue to roll in win over Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

08/18/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clayton Richard allowed just one run in 6 2/3 strong innings, leading the San Diego Padres to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the third of four games at Wrigley Field.

Richard (11-5) yielded seven hits and two walks while fanning two for the Padres, who have won four straight and nine of 10 to increase their lead over the Giants to 5 1/2 games in the NL West. Adrian Gonzalez added his 23rd homer and scored three times, reaching base in each of his five plate appearances.

Matt Stairs added two RBI on a first-inning double in the win.

Jeff Baker hit an RBI double for the struggling Cubs, who have lost 17 of 21 overall and nine of their last 10 games at home. Casey Coleman (0-1), making his first career start, allowed three runs on six hits and three walks in 4 1/3 frames to take the loss.

After the game, the Cubs reached agreement with the Braves to send long-time first baseman Derrek Lee to Atlanta. In return, Chicago will receive three minor league pitchers.

The Padres reached Coleman for two runs in the opening inning.

Jerry Hairston, Jr. walked with one down, and Gonzalez followed with a four- pitch walk. After Chase Headley was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Stairs doubled to left to plate two runners.

The Cubs got on the board on back-to-back doubles by Alfonso Soriano and Baker in the second, but Richard shut down the Chicago offense from there.

Gonzalez restored San Diego's two-run lead with a solo homer in the third, and Richard pitched into the seventh without giving up another run. He was pulled after giving up a two-out single in favor of Luke Gregerson, who struck out Marlon Byrd to end the inning.

Gonzalez singled and scored on a wild pitch in the eighth, while Headley hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth to add two insurance runs for San Diego.

Game Notes

The Cubs have lost six straight at home...Richard has won his last four decisions...Soriano went 2-for-4 for Chicago with his 30th double.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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