Volquez solid in return to mound; Reds rout Rockies

Baseball Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edinson Volquez made a triumphant return to the mound in his first start in more than a year and was backed by four home runs, as the Reds crushed the Rockies, 8-1, at Great American Ball Park.

Volquez (1-0), who last appeared in a major league game on June 1, 2009, struck out nine over six innings, walked two and yielded just three hits. Two of those came in the first inning when Dexter Fowler doubled and Carlos Gonzalez brought in the only Colorado run with a single.

The 27-year-old Volquez had been out because of both Tommy John surgery and a 50-game suspension for a violation of the league's drug policy. It was his first win since May 5, 2009 against the Marlins.

Drew Stubbs smacked two homers and drove in three, while Brandon Phillips cracked a three-run shot. Jonny Gomes had two RBI and added a solo home run as Cincinnati won its second straight in this three-game set.

Jorge De La Rosa (3-2) was rocked for a second straight outing coming off a finger injury that shelved him for more than two months. In 3 1/3 innings, he gave up seven runs -- six earned -- on four hits and five walks as the Rockies fell for a third consecutive game.

After Gonzalez gave Colorado an early advantage, the Reds took over via the longball and never looked back behind a superb comeback from Volquez.

Miguel Cairo walked with one away in the second and Stubbs launched the first of his two home runs to left, putting Cincinnati in front for good.

Gomes provided a sacrifice fly in the next inning and Stubbs belted a solo shot to right-center during a four-run fourth. Ryan Hanigan followed with a walk and Volquez reached on an error in front of Phillips' three-run blast to deep left-center, making it a 7-1 game.

Gomes led off the fifth with a home run off Jhoulys Chacin to extend the margin. Meanwhile, Volquez continued to deal on the other end.

After Gonzalez's RBI hit in the first, the right-handed Dominican surrendered only a stray single to Clint Barmes in the second and walked Jonathan Herrera twice. The last time was to open the sixth, but he quickly recovered with strikeouts of Gonzalez and Brad Hawpe, then got Seth Smith to ground out to complete his outing.

Logan Ondrusek set down the Rockies in order in the seventh and Jordan Smith worked around a two-out single by Herrera in the eighth. Smith returned for the ninth and walked Hawpe to start, but closed out the game by retiring the next three batters.

Game Notes

Volquez lost about $120,000 of his $445,000 salary for the suspension, which was served while he recovered from his elbow injury. In six rehab starts in the minors, Volquez went 4-0 with a 1.45 earned run average. Cairo filled in at third base for Scott Rolen, who was out of the lineup due to illness...De La Rosa served up sevens runs, five of those earned, in 4 1/3 innings in his last outing, versus San Diego on July 9. It was his first start since April 25...The Rockies won all seven games versus the Reds last year...Stubbs upped his home run total to 13 on the year. Phillips also hit his 13th and Gomes his 12th of 2010.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.