Reds head to Milwaukee to battle surging Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds try to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers for the seventh straight time when the National League Central rivals open a three-game set this evening at Miller Park.

The Reds, who swept a two-game set from the Brewers earlier in the year after taking the final four matchups between the two last season, come into tonight's tilt following their league-worst 12th shutout loss on Sunday. Wandy Rodriguez spun seven innings of one-hit ball for Houston as the Reds fell, 4-0, to the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Mike Leake (7-2) suffered the loss after yielding all four runs on seven hits while walking three and fanning three over 6 1/3 innings for the Reds, who fell a half-game back of the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central.

Hoping to get the Reds back into first place tonight will be righty Bronson Arroyo, who is 10-5 with a 4.26 earned run average. Arroyo was denied his 11th win Wednesday against Washington, as the Nationals ripped him for seven runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Arroyo has faced the Brewers 20 times (17 starts) and is 9-6 with a 3.80 ERA against them.

Arroyo will be facing a Milwaukee team that has won six straight at home and four straight overall after sweeping a three-game set from Washington over the weekend, culminating with an 8-3 win on Sunday. Casey McGehee hit a three-run homer and Rickie Weeks clubbed a two-run shot for the Brewers, who have won seven of their last 10 overall, while Jonathan Lucroy went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Dave Bush (5-8) earned the win for allowing three runs -- two earned -- on six hits with seven strikeouts and did not issue a walk over six innings.

"I like to work quickly and throw a lot of strikes and kind of force the tempo," Bush said. "Any win is a good one, no matter who it's against."

Getting the call for Milwaukee this evening will be left-handed veteran Randy Wolf, who set dubious career highs in his last outing when he allowed 12 runs and 13 hits in 5 2/3 innings Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The loss dropped him to 7-9 while raising his ERA to 5.20.

However, Wolf has had success against the Reds, having gone 9-2 with a 3.11 ERA in 16 starts.

The Reds also won seven straight games over the Brewers in 2002.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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