With Valentine rumors swirling, Marlins open set with Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

06/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place San Diego Padres continue their early- summer tour of Florida tonight when they venture to Miami to open a three-game set with the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium.

Leading by 2 1/2 games over the San Francisco Giants in the National League's West Division, the Padres won two of three games on the initial stop of the Sunshine State trip in a midweek series with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays salvaged the finale of the series on Thursday, when Kelly Shoppach went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in a 5-3 win.

Oscar Salazar hit a two-run home run while Jerry Hairston Jr. drove in the other run for the Padres, who had a three-game winning streak stopped. Wade LeBlanc (4-5) was tagged with the loss as he gave up four runs on 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Left-hander Clayton Richard gets the call on the mound for the opener with the Marlins and seeks to end a winless drought that's stretched to five starts. The 26-year-old's last win came May 22 at Seattle, when he scattered seven hits and allowed just one run in a 2-1 defeat of the Mariners.

He's 0-2 with three decisions since, including a 5-4 loss to Baltimore on June 19, in which he gave up eight hits and four earned runs in six innings.

Richard, who's 2-1 in five road starts in 2010, has never faced the Marlins.

Florida counters with former first-round pick Chris Volstad, who's won just once in eight starts since May 7. The 16th overall selection in 2005 was 3-2 on the season after a 4-2 win in Washington, but subsequently lost four straight starts in May and has beaten only the Rays in four June outings.

Volstad gave up seven hits and four runs in a no-decision his last time out, lasting 5 2/3 innings in a game the Marlins lost, 9-8, to Tampa Bay on June 19.

Tonight will mark the third game at the helm for interim manager Edwin Rodriguez, who took over when Fredi Gonzalez was fired earlier in the week. His stay, though, could be coming to an end soon, as reports are circulating that the club and Bobby Valentine are on the verge of a deal. One report suggests that Valentine could take over the team as early as Monday.

On Thursday, in Rodriguez's second game, Miguel Tejada hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBI and three runs scored as the Baltimore Orioles avoided a sweep and defeated the Marlins, 11-5, in the finale of a series at Camden Yards.

Dan Uggla finished 4-for-5 and recorded three runs batted in for Florida, which saw its three-game win streak halted. Gaby Sanchez added three hits and two runs scored in the loss.

Florida starter Nate Robertson (5-6) lasted only 2 1/3 innings and was charged with five runs on seven hits.

San Diego took two of three from the Marlins earlier in the year and has won four of the last six meetings.

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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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