Struggling Rockies seek to bring skid to a close against Pirates

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies try to avoid their eighth straight loss this evening when they play the middle test of their three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field.

Following a 2-9 road trip, things didn't get any easier upon returning home for the Rockies, even with the return of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Neil Walker finished 3-for-4 with a solo home run as Pittsburgh continued Colorado's second-half slide with a 4-2 victory.

Zach Duke (5-9) gave the Bucs six solid innings, allowing two runs on just three hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks. Octavio Dotel pitched the ninth frame for his 21st save of the season. The Pirates snapped a four-game skid and had lost six in a row on the road and 22 of their previous 24 outside Pittsburgh.

"Zach did a good job and the bullpen did what they usually do for us late in the game. It was a very solid win for us," Pirates manager John Russell said.

Jorge De La Rosa (3-3) took the loss, surrendering three runs -- two earned -- on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks over seven frames. Brad Hawpe and Clint Barmes hit back-to-back home runs for the Rockies, who have lost 11 of their last 13 games.

The Rockies, who last lost eight straight back in 2008, activated Tulowitzki from the 15-day disabled list before the game after he missed 33 contests with a fractured left wrist. He went 0-for-4 and committed his sixth error of the season.

However, the Rockies lost another big piece to the puzzle before the game when reliever Huston Street was hit in the abdomen by a line drive during batting practice. He was taken to the hospital and reportedly lost consciousness two or three times before the ambulance arrived.

Hoping to get the Rockies back on track tonight will be veteran Aaron Cook, who is 4-6 with a 4.78 ERA. Cook was defeated by Philadelphia on Friday, as he gave up five runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Cook has faced the Pirates eight times (five starts) and is 2-1 with a 4.78 ERA.

The Pirates will counter with righty Ross Ohlendorf, who was tagged with a hard-luck loss his last time out against Milwaukee. Ohlendorf gave up a run and five hits in six innings of that one, but was on the wrong end of the 3-2 decision.

Ohlendorf is 1-1 in two starts against the Rockies, but is 0-4 in six road starts this season. His last road win came in Colorado last August.

Colorado won six of nine matchups with the Pirates last year and has dominated this series at home over the past two seasons, having gone 9-2 against Pittsburgh at Coors Field since 2008.

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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

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To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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