Cueto, Reds blank Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Cueto dealt eight scoreless innings, and Joey Votto slugged his league-leading 25th home run in Cincinnati's 7-0 win over Houston in the middle installment of a three-game set.

Cueto (10-2) allowed four hits while walking one and striking out six for Cincinnati, which has won all five of its games this season in Houston. Jordan Smith finished the shutout by retiring the Astros in turn in the ninth.

Votto slugged a two-run home run in the first inning and finished 2-for-4, while Orlando Cabrera had three hits and scored twice and Laynce Nix added three hits and a pair of runs driven in.

Roy Oswalt (6-12) suffered a rare defeat to the Reds after yielding six runs on nine hits over five frames during which he walked one and struck out three for the Astros, who have dropped three of their last four.

Oswalt, the subject of trade speculation as the deadline looms seven days away, was denied for a second straight start a win that would have tied him with Joe Niekro for the franchise's all-time lead with 144.

Votto's opposite field blast into the Crawford Boxes in left field put the Reds ahead three batters into the game.

Ramon Hernandez led off the second with a long home run to left, his first since June 21, to make it 3-0 in favor of the visitors.

Cabrera and Votto opened the third with singles and scored when Nix lashed a double into right-center. Nix advanced to third on a deep fly out and scored on a two-out single by Hernandez, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

The Astros had only one runner advance to second base through seven innings before putting together a mild threat in the eighth.

Chris Johnson singled and reached second base on a fielding error by Cabrera on a throw from Brandon Phillips, who fielded a Jason Castro grounder and tried to start a double play. However, Cueto got pinch-hitter Jason Bourgeois to pop up, froze Michael Bourn on a called third strike and induced Sanchez to ground out to end the inning and his performance.

Chris Heisey hit his fourth pinch-hit home run of the season off Chris Sampson in the ninth to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Oswalt had never allowed more than four earned runs in 31 career starts against Cincinnati before Saturday night...He is 23-3 in his career against the Reds but has lost his two starts to them this season and has not beaten them since September 25, 2008...Oswalt made his 303rd career appearance to move past Octavio Dotel into eighth place on the Astros all-time list. Houston has scored 10 runs in 69 innings while Oswalt has been on the mound in his 12 defeats...Cueto beat the Astros for the first time in his career...He had lost his first four decisions to them, including three in Houston...The Reds lead the season series, 7-1...Hernandez has hit three home runs this season against Houston, the other two coming on May 29...Cincinnati improved to 32-11 when scoring first.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

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