Reds' Volquez takes mound in finale with Nationals

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07/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nationals' rotation has gotten a jolt ever since Stephen Strasburg joined the club in June. The Reds are hoping for a similar result from Edinson Volquez.

Volquez will make his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery this afternoon when Cincinnati tries to deny Washington a split of their four- game series at Great American Ball Park.

The right-handed Volquez took the field on Saturday for the first time since June 1 of last year and got the win after holding the Rockies to just a run and three hits over six innings, walking two while striking out nine.

The Reds will hope for more of that today from Volquez, who also served a 50- game suspension during his recovery for violating the league's drug policy and went 4-2 with a 4.35 earned run average in nine starts a season ago after winning 17 games in 2008.

"It was not easy, but I was comfortable [Saturday] after the first inning," Volquez told the Reds' website. "I was really, really excited, big crowd tonight, first time. It seemed like this was my first time in the big leagues."

The 27-year-old has faced the Nationals just once before, picking up a victory on July 6, 2008 after getting charged with three runs over six frames of work.

Volquez will be looking to pitch the Reds to a series win tonight after they took the first two games of this set prior to losing 8-5 last night to Strasburg and the Nationals. Washington's phenom yielded three runs and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven to win his third straight start.

"We've been putting up runs these last few games and it's great," Strasburg said. "It makes the pitcher's job a lot easier. Hopefully we can keep it going."

Cristian Guzman notched a two-run homer, Willie Harris added a solo shot and both Nyjer Morgan and Ian Desmond produced two-run singles for the Nationals, who snapped a four-game skid and won for the second time in eight games.

Miguel Cairo had a two-run single for the Reds, but Bronson Arroyo was charged with seven runs over 5 2/3 innings. Cincinnati's second loss in six games dropped the club 1 1/2 contests behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central.

"It was a tough loss tonight because we swung the bats well against a very tough pitcher," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He has good stuff and he's going to be good for a long time."

Nationals starter Livan Hernandez is in search of his first win since June 21, going 0-2 in five starts since. His two losses have come in back-to-back starts and he has allowed four or more runs three times over his winless drought.

That wasn't the case on Saturday versus the Marlins as Hernandez only allowed two runs, one earned, over six innings of a 2-0 loss. The 35-year-old right- hander fell to 6-6 with a 3.27 ERA on the season and 2-4 with a 4.32 ERA in eight road outings.

Hernandez did not factor into the decision of a June 4 start versus the Reds even though he allowed just two runs over six innings. He did have to work around eight hits and four walks, though, and is just 2-7 with a 5.46 ERA lifetime against Cincinnati in 14 starts.

The Cuban hurler isn't expected to face Reds' triple crown threat Joey Votto, who is hitting .305 with 23 homers and 64 RBI in 90 games this year. He is expected to get the day off in favor of catcher Ramon Hernandez, who will come off the disabled list today and play first. Hernandez has been out since July 4 because of a sore knee.

The Reds took two of three in Washington from June 4-6, but it was the Nationals who won three of four at Cincinnati last season.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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