Harang targets back-to-back wins in finale with Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

08/28/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Aaron Harang will try to win consecutive starts for the first time this season tonight when the Cincinnati Reds close out a three-game midweek series with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Harang, a 16-game winner in each of the last two seasons, has plummeted through a disappointing and injury plagued 2008, recently going six straight starts without a victory as his record plunged to 3-13.

He turned it around at least briefly in his last outing, however blanking the Colorado Rockies over six innings of the Reds' 8-5 triumph at Coors Field on Aug. 22.

The second-to-last defeat of the aforementioned skid came against the Astros, when Harang dropped a 13-4 decision after allowing nine hits and eight runs in just four innings of an Aug. 10 game in Cincinnati.

He is 8-6 with a complete game and a 4.49 earned run average in 18 lifetime starts against Houston.

For the Astros, 30-year-old right-hander Brandon Backe can remain unbeaten for his career against the Reds.

He's 3-0 in nine games - five starts - against Cincinnati, posting a 3.16 ERA ovr 31 1/3 innings.

Backe also picked up a win in his last start, scattering five hits and three runs in seven innings of an 8-3 downing of the New York Mets on Aug. 23 at Shea Stadium.

The Galveston, Texas native is an inconsistent 3-4 with three no-decisions over his last 10 starts and 2-2 over his last four, including losses to the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks in which he was raked for 18 hits and 22 runs in nine innings.

In the two wins, he's given up just nine hits and four runs in 14 innings.

On Wednesday, Roy Oswalt continued his mastery of the Reds with seven strong innings to lead the Astros to a 4-1 win.

Oswalt (12-9) allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts for the Astros, who evened this three-game series and in the process snapped a two- game skid.

Oswalt improved to an incredible 22-1 in his career against the Reds, including a 3-0 mark this season.

Hunter Pence and Ty Wigginton both hit a two-run homer and Lance Berkman registered three hits with a run scored in the win.

Jeff Keppinger scored the only run for the Reds, who have dropped three of their last four games.

Josh Fogg (2-7) suffered the loss despite a solid outing in which he allowed two runs on six hits over six innings.

The Astros swept a four-game series in Cincinnati from August 7-10 and have won nine of the 11 matchups between the teams so far this season. Houston is 20-6 against the Reds since the start of the 2007 campaign.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.