Top hurlers to clash in Dodgers-Cardinals opener

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07/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw pitched well enough to be an All-Star, but ultimately did not join four of his teammates in Anaheim for the Mid-Summer Classic.

Despite the snub, Kershaw will look to get his second half off to an equally- as-impressive start this evening, when the Dodgers visit the St. Louis Cardinals in a battle of second-place clubs at Busch Stadium.

Los Angeles manager Joe Torre will go with Kershaw in the opener of this four- game series after the 22-year-old went 9-4 with a 2.96 earned run average in the first half. Kershaw won his final two starts before the hiatus and has claimed victory in five of his last six decisions.

That includes a win over the Chicago Cubs last Thursday, when the left-hander yielded two runs on seven hits with a season-high 12 strikeouts. He matched his longest start of the season by going eight innings and is 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA in eight road starts.

"Clayton had a great start [Thursday. He's very special," Torre said. "The most important thing he brings to the table is he can throw more than one pitch for a strike."

The Cardinals certainly know that as Kershaw is 2-0 with a 2.27 ERA in five lifetime starts versus them. He beat the club on June 9 after yielding three runs on four hits while striking out 10 over seven innings.

While Kershaw was not selected to represent the National League on Tuesday, St. Louis' Chris Carpenter was. However, the right-hander did not pitch in the NL's 3-1 win and will instead go for the Cardinals tonight.

Carpenter went winless in his final three starts before the break, going 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA. He was tagged for eight runs (seven earned) over just three innings in a loss to Milwaukee on July 3 and was then defeated by Colorado five days later after yielding four runs over six frames of work.

The 35-year-old is now 9-3 with a 3.29 ERA on the season, but has never lost to the Dodgers. Despite a no-decision versus the club on June 8 -- an outing in which Carpenter threw seven scoreless innings -- he is 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA all-time against Los Angeles.

A few of Carpenter's teammates did play a role in Tuesday's All-Star Game win. Matt Holliday, who failed to make it out of the first round of Monday's Home Run Derby, scored one of the NL's three runs, while Adam Wainwright took the hill after the Senior Circuit grabbed the lead and held the AL off the scoreboard in the seventh inning despite allowing a hit and a walk.

Catcher Yadier Molina and first baseman Albert Pujols both started the game for St. Louis. Molina had a hit while Pujols went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.

The Dodgers also had an impact in Tuesday's game. Reliever Hong-Chih Kuo gave up the lone AL run, though it was unearned due to his throwing error, while Jonathan Broxton closed out the game for the save. Starting right fielder Andre Ethier went 1-for-2 with a strikeout, while shortstop Rafael Furcal drew a walk after coming in off the bench.

Both the Cardinals and Dodgers come into this series just out of first place in their respective divisions. St. Louis is a game back of Cincinnati in the NL Central, while Los Angeles is two games back of NL West-leading San Diego.

The Cardinals lost four of six before the break, but did claim a 4-2 win over Houston in Sunday's finale and begin an eight-game homestand tonight. The Dodgers, meanwhile, took three of four from the Cubs to finish out last week and have won six of their last nine.

Los Angeles is expected to have Manny Ramirez back in the lineup tonight. He has been on the disabled list due to a strained right hamstring and is hitting .322 in 59 games this year, but has just eight homers and 39 RBI. Ramirez also spent time on the DL earlier this year because of a strained calf muscle.

The Dodgers swept a three-game set at home from the Cardinals from June 7-9 after losing five of seven to the club 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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