Rockies hope to stay hot versus Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have put together a couple of strong Septembers over the past few years. They've been even more successful in recent meetings with the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.

Colorado shoots for an eighth consecutive win over the Reds in Denver, as well as a fifth straight victory overall, when the resurgent Rockies continue a key four-game series with first-place Cincinnati tonight.

The Rockies, who won 14 of their final 15 regular-season tests to claim the National League's Wild Card berth in 2007 and went 10-1 to begin September of last season en route to another postseason trip, seem to be at it again. Monday's 10-5 decision over the Reds was Colorado's 10th victory in its past 15 tilts and kept Jim Tracy's squad 4 1/2 games behind front-running San Diego in the NL West race.

"We feel like we control our own destiny," said Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki after Monday's result. "We play the guys in front of us enough. If we play well and win the series each and every time we're going to move on."

Tulowitzki went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBI in the opener to help ace Ubaldo Jimenez earn his 18th win of the season, while teammate Carlos Gonzalez kept up his hot hitting with a 3-for-5, two-RBI performance at the plate. The standout outfielder is batting a sensational .536 (30-for-56) with six homers and 18 runs driven in over a career-high 14-game hitting streak that has raised his season average to an NL-best .340.

Jimenez (18-6) became the first NL hurler to reach the 18-win mark on the year despite allowing four runs and walking six batters over six shaky innings. The 2010 All-Star still outpitched counterpart Aaron Harang, who lasted just 2 1/3 innings for Cincinnati and was roughed up for four runs on four hits and walked three.

Bill Bray (1-2) took the loss for the Reds after surrendering three runs, including Tulowitzki's tie-breaking solo homer in the bottom of the fifth, in 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Jonny Gomes paced Cincinnati offensively by going 2-for-5 with a two-run single, while teammate Chris Heisey finished with a pair of hits and scored twice on the afternoon.

The Reds have now dropped three of the first four contests on their current seven-game road trip and had its lead atop the NL Central brought down to six games after second-place St. Louis defeated Milwaukee on Monday.

The setback was also Cincinnati's seventh in a row at Coors Field, where the club hasn't won since August 22, 2008. Although the Reds did take two of three bouts from the Rockies in Ohio back in July, Colorado is now 16-3 in its last 19 matchups with Cincy following yesterday's verdict.

Cincinnati turns to Johnny Cueto in hopes of reversing those trends this evening. The young right-hander has put his team in position to win plenty of times this season, having compiled a 12-4 record along with a 3.41 earned run average through his 26 starts of 2010.

Cueto has been on top of his game in each of his past two outings. He held the Chicago Cubs to one run and struck out eight without a walk over eight excellent innings in a victory on August 27, then yielded just one run in six frames in a no-decision against Milwaukee this past Wednesday.

This will be Cueto's second-ever appearance against the Rockies. The first took place at Coors Field during his rookie campaign of 2008, with the now 24- year-old removed after issuing three walks and giving up an unearned run in only three innings of work.

Jhoulys Chacin gets the call for Colorado tonight and will be aiming to return to the win column following a no-decision in his latest assignment. The rookie did not factor in his club's 12-11 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday, a game in which he pitched the first 5 1/3 innings and permitted three runs, two of which were unearned.

Chacin was outstanding in each of his two starts that preceded Thursday's outcome. After fanning nine Arizona hitters over 7 2/3 shutout innings to beat the Diamondbacks on August 22, the 24-year-old limited the Los Angeles Dodgers to a run on four hits and struck out seven in seven frames to notch another victory six days later.

The native Venezuelan has pitched twice previously against Cincinnati in a relief role, including a 2 1/3-inning stint on July 17 in which he struck out four hitters in addition to giving up a solo homer to Gomes.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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