Reds wrap up set in Milwaukee

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After breaking out of an offensive slump last night, the Cincinnati Reds hope to be swinging hot bats for a second straight day when the National League Central co-leaders conclude a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon at Miller Park.

The Reds followed up a shutout loss at Houston on Sunday with a 3-2 setback to the Brewers the following night, but the NL's most productive offense was able to return to its season-long form in Tuesday's second test of this three-game set. Cincinnati racked up 19 hits and knocked out Milwaukee ace Yovani Gallardo in the third inning en route to a 12-4 rout.

Scott Rolen led the Reds' outburst by going 4-for-4 with three RBI. Fellow NL All-Stars Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto also collected four hits each in the win, with Phillips knocking in a pair of runs, while Ramon Hernandez doubled twice and finished with three RBI on the night.

Most of the damage took place against Gallardo (9-5), who was rocked for six runs (five earned) and 10 hits before being removed after just 2 2/3 innings.

"You can never predict what's going to happen in this game," said Rolen. "We swung the bats well and kind of put the pressure on them. It feels good to even up the series and hopefully we can take it [Wednesday]."

With the Brewers trailing big late, manager Ken Macha decided to have position player Joe Inglett pitch the ninth inning, with the utilityman retiring the side in order.

"It's really the first time I've ever used the position player to pitch," Macha said. "It was interesting. He was throwing 51 (mph) and got them out. When you're starter doesn't get three innings in, that's what happens."

The Reds didn't get much out of their starter either, with Edinson Volquez lasting only 3 2/3 frames and allowing four runs on six hits while issuing four walks. Logan Ondrusek (2-0) then took over and delivered 2 1/3 hitless innings to nail down the win.

Gallardo made more of an impact at the plate, belting a two-run homer off Volquez in the second inning. Rickie Weeks added a solo shot and ended 2-for-4 with two runs scored for Milwaukee, which had a season high-tying five-game win streak halted.

Seeking to get the Brewers back on track will be Chris Narveson, a surprise eight-game winner for the team who's done a serviceable job since being placed in the rotation in late April. The journeyman lefty hasn't had a good July, however, as he's allowed 21 runs (20 innings) over 20 1/3 innings and posted a 1-2 record in four starts this month.

Narveson was sharp in his first outing after the All-Star break, holding NL East-leading Atlanta to two runs in six innings to help Milwaukee to a 6-3 win on July 17. He didn't perform as well in last Friday's matchup with Washington, however, as the visiting Nationals reached him for five runs in a six-inning no-decision.

The 28-year-old gave up two home runs in that start and has surrendered 16 in only 98 2/3 innings of work this season. The Reds, by the way, are ranked second in the NL with 119 homers, a number surpassed only by the Brewers, in addition to topping the Senior Circuit with 496 runs scored.

This will be Narveson's first-ever start against Cincinnati, but he's yielded just one run in a combined four innings in two previous encounters with the Reds in relief.

For Cincinnati, hard-luck rookie Travis Wood takes another stab at an elusive initial victory in the majors when he takes on the Brewers for the first time tonight. The young lefty has made five starts since being promoted from the minors on July 1, but has yet to win despite limiting the opposition to two runs or fewer in three of those games.

Wood wasn't particularly good in his most recent assignment, a six-inning no- decision at Houston on Friday in which he was tagged for four runs on nine hits, but pitched extremely well with nothing to show for it in his two prior starts. He took a perfect game into the ninth inning and finished with nine frames of one-hit, shutout ball at Philadelphia on July 10, then followed up by permitting just one run and three hits through six innings of a loss to Colorado on July 18. The Reds did not score at all in either of the two tilts.

Cincinnati moved into a virtual first-place tie with St. Louis, which lost to the New York Mets on Tuesday, in the NL Central standings and will attempt to maintain its recent mastery of Milwaukee. The Reds have taken seven of the past eight meetings between the clubs and swept a two-game series from the Brewers in Cincinnati from May 17-18.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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