Reds seek revenge in clash with streaking Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/27/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edinson Volquez aims to start another Cincinnati win streak when the Reds visit Miller Park tonight for the second test of a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cincinnati had beaten the Brewers six straight times before Monday's opener, when pinch-hitter Jim Edmonds homered with two outs in the eighth inning after just missing a go-ahead shot on the previous pitch, lifting Milwaukee to a 3-2 comeback victory over the Reds.

Rickie Weeks hit a two-run homer in the third inning as Milwaukee won its fifth straight game to match a season-best streak after trailing 2-0 early.

Edmonds has been unable to play the field since his right Achilles' tendon tightened Saturday night, but he didn't need to run hard after his at-bat against Bronson Arroyo (10-6) in the eighth. He first hit a big blast off a fastball, dropping the bat only to watch his shot sail foul. He then sent the next pitch over the Reds' bullpen in right-center field.

Brewers reliever Carlos Villanueva (1-0) pitched the eighth and rookie closer John Axford rebounded from his first blown save of the season on Friday to notch his 15th save in 16 attempts, working around a one-out double to pinch- hitter Laynce Nix.

The Reds trail the first-place St. Louis Cardinals by a game in the National League's Central Division and lead the third-place Brewers by seven games.

Volquez, a 17-game winner and an NL All-Star in 2008, was shelved for most of the 2009 and the initial half of 2010 after undergoing ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow. He returned with six strong innings in an 8-1 defeat of Colorado in his season debut on July 17, but lasted less than three innings while being tagged for five hits and six runs in a 7-1 loss to Washington five days later.

Lifetime against Milwaukee, Volquez, who was traded from Texas for AL MVP candidate Josh Hamilton, is 2-1 in four starts with a 6.35 earned run average over 22 2/3 innings.

For the Brewers, Mexican righty Yovani Gallardo faces the Reds for the second time this season and the seventh time overall in his 74th major-league appearance.

Gallardo got a no-decision against the Reds on May 17 in Cincinnati, allowing four hits and a run over six innings in a game Milwaukee lost, 6-3. He did issue six walks in that game, but struck out five.

The 24-year-old, a 13-game winner last season, has won three of his last four starts overall while allowing 22 hits and 10 runs in 23 2/3 innings. He's 2-1 with a 3.50 earned run average overall against the Reds.

Last night's contest was the third meeting between the teams of 2010. The Reds swept a brief two-game set from Milwaukee in Cincinnati from May 17-18.

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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.