Astros turn to Oswalt vs. Diamondbacks in hopes of ending skid

Baseball Betting Lines

05/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have no better chance than now to end a grueling seven-game losing streak, as they'll send staff ace Roy Oswalt to the mound tonight in the continuation of a four-game series versus the Arizona Diamondbacks at Minute Maid Park.

Oswalt has owned the D'Backs throughout his career, going 9-1 with a 1.96 earned run average over 11 starts. He hopes to get back in the win column against a familiar foe after having a personal two-game winning streak cut short the previous time out on Thursday versus Cincinnati. In the 4-2 setback to the Reds, Oswalt allowed three runs and eight hits in seven frames.

The right-hander fell to 2-3 in five starts and raised his earned run average from 2.42 to 2.73.

Houston needs all the help it can get from its starters after Felipe Paulino fell to 0-4 in last night's 9-1 loss to Arizona. Despite striking out eight batters, Paulino was roughed up for five runs and five hits in six innings.

"You're going to go through those struggles," said Astros manager Brad Mills. "But again, and you've heard me say before, you keep moving in the right direction, You keep doing the right things and that's what we are trying to do. You look at tonight's game and you might think, well, there wasn't too much going in the right direction. But that's what we do, is we try and pick out those right things to keep moving in that right direction."

Carlos Lee drove in the Astros' only run, while Michael Bourn and Cory Sullivan each ended with two hits in defeat. The Astros will also host San Diego for three games on the seven-game residency.

Arizona is 4-4 on an 11-game road trip and won for the fifth time in nine tries with Monday's eight-run triumph in the Lone Star State.

Cesar Valdez posted the win in his major league debut, allowing only one run and five hits over the first five innings. Esmerling Vasquez then threw two shutout innings, while Aaron Heilman and Blaine Boyer both tossed a scoreless inning of relief.

"I was impressed with how he was able to hold it together, especially those first two innings" Diamondbacks manager AJ Hinch said of Valdez. "They made him work. He threw a lot of pitches in the first. He collected himself and went out and got into trouble again, and got through it."

Chris Snyder hit the go-ahead three-run homer in the fourth inning and Chris Young chipped in three hits and an RBI for Arizona, which had a 12-8 advantage in hits.

Ian Kennedy gets the nod for Hinch's ballclub Tuesday and was 0-1 with a 4.43 ERA in four starts until beating the Cubs last Thursday at Wrigley Field. He got more than enough run support in a 13-5 victory and gave up five runs, four of which were earned, in eight innings of work. Kennedy fanned six batters.

The right-hander, who is 1-1 in five starts, has never faced Houston.

Arizona won five of nine matchups with Houston a season ago and is unbeaten in the past five matchups between the clubs.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

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