Winds of change surround Brewers-Astros clash

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Things sure are changing in the Astros' clubhouse in a hurry, but that hasn't stopped the club from putting together a little win streak.

Having already traded one face of the franchise, Houston appears on the verge of shipping out another before tonight's continuation of a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Minute Maid Park.

With the Astros 13 1/2 games off the pace in the National League Central, the club has become sellers at this year's trade deadline. They already shipped starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Phillies on Thursday and are rumored to have a deal in the works today to send Lance Berkman to the New York Yankees.

Berkman is expected to become the Yankees' full-time designated hitter after batting .245 in 85 games this season with 13 homers and 49 RBI following knee surgery in March.

"If you decide to leave a place you've grown up and call home, that's very difficult," Berkman told Houston's website on Friday. "This is a tremendous organization, and they've given me an opportunity to not only play in the big leagues, but they kept me around. It would be very tough to leave a place as comfortable with as I am here."

Berkman was not in the lineup on Friday, but J.A. Happ was. One of the players acquired from the Phillies on Thursday for Oswalt, the young left-hander threw six scoreless innings in his Houston debut, helping his club to a 5-0 victory.

Happ gave up just two hits and struck out six to earn the win, the Astros' third in a row that is one shy of their season high.

"I'm sure there was a lot of anxiety and nerves throwing for the first part of it," Astros manager Brad Mills said of Happ. "We saw a guy that knows how to pitch."

Houston's look to the future has opened up playing time for guys like Chris Johnson, who had one of three Astros homers last night. Jason Michaels and Jeff Keppinger also went deep while Johnson extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by an Astros rookie since Julio Lugo's 14-game run in 2000.

Brewers starter Manny Parra couldn't keep up with Happ, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings. Happ's performance did not catch Milwaukee manager Ken Macha by surprise either.

"I voted for him for Rookie of the Year last year," Macha said of Happ. "He's got a good arm. I thought we were just a little too aggressive and went out of the zone a little bit tonight."

Milwaukee finished with just four hits, none from Corey Hart, who went 0-for-3 with a walk in his return to the lineup after missing six games due to a sore right thumb and wrist.

Hart and company will be looking to slow down Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez, who is on an impressive run that has seen him win two straight and five of his last six starts while allowing one run or less in four of those games.

The left-hander beat the Reds on Sunday with seven scoreless innings of one- hit, two-walk ball while striking out seven and moving to 8-11 on the season with a 4.80 earned run average.

Rodriguez, 31, beat the Brewers on June 30 with seven innings of one-run ball and is 6-6 versus them lifetime with a 4.48 ERA.

Brewers starter Dave Bush snapped a two-start skid on Sunday with a win over Washington, allowing three runs -- two earned -- on six hits over six innings to improve to 5-8 on the season with a 4.27 ERA. It was an encouraging outing for the right-hander after he gave up 10 runs, five earned, over four innings of a loss to Pittsburgh in his previous outing.

Bush has pitched well versus the Astros in his career, going 6-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 15 games, 13 of those starts. The 30-year-old did lose to them on June 30, but allowed two runs over six innings.

The Brewers and Astros split six games in Milwaukee earlier this year.

Trifectas Baseball Betting News

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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.