Just when we thought that the L.A. Dodgers had begun to pull away from the pack in the wild, wacky and underachieving NL West the San Diego Padres pitching staff decided to put on a clinic. Now, judging by the way the Padre hitters are singing the lumber, it's safe to say that of those of us who love sports betting, few will be playing the OVER totals any time soon. San Diego is on a modest three game winning streak and in that span has accumulated just seven runs, which would not translate into three straight victories, but the hurlers have only relinquished three runs during that span. Last night it was Jake Peavy shutting down the suddenly stumbling Dodgers and it is hard to imagine that the all-star is just 7-12 this season. Hope you didn't lay any money with your favorite sportsbook. The defending division champion Padres have won 10 of their last 11 against their biggest rival. By winning the first two of the three-game series, the Padres ended the Dodgers' string of seven straight series victories. That Dodgers' run began after they were swept by the Padres at Dodger Stadium July 24-26. Los Angeles has lost four of six games following a 17-1 stretch. The Padres have scored two or fewer runs in 12 of Peavy's 25 starts. Meanwhile, down by the Ohio River the Cincinnati Reds continue their run that could find them as the wild card entrant come October. Outscoring their opponents 37-11 in the past four games has the rest of the mediocre crop chasing looking up at them in the standings. The latest win moved them a game behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central, their smallest deficit since July 3. You might as well change their names to the Cincinnati Renegades as 13 of their current 25 players have been obtained after the team broke training camp in Florida. I guess the Fountain of Youth is egg whites as New York Mets utility player Julio Franco turns 48 today and he consumes twenty of them every morning prior to beginning his day. The Mets have a reasonable shot at 100 wins as they need 24 in their remaining 38 to hit the century mark! Bob Acton Sports Betting |
