Ludwick returns to Cardinals lineup

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals activated outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the 15-day disabled list in time for Saturday's game at Wrigley Field.

He went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and walk in his return to the lineup during a 6-5 loss to the Cubs.

Ludwick had been sidelined with a strained calf since June 26 and missed 23 games. He played three games at Triple-A Memphis on a rehab assignment and went 3-for-9 with a pair of homers and five runs batted in.

In 72 games for the Cardinals this season, Ludwick is batting .273 with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in.

The Cardinals opened a roster spot by optioning pitcher P.J. Walters to Memphis. Walters was recalled Friday and pitched two hitless innings of relief in a 5-0 loss to the Cubs.

In five games for St. Louis this season, including a pair of starts, Walters is 1-0 with a 7.11 ERA.

Wwwvegasinsider Baseball Betting News

<< Report: Giants sign LB Bulluck
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants have reportedly signed veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck. The Star-Ledger, which cites Bulluck's agent, Gary Wichard, reports that the two sides have agreed terms on a one-year

<< Dallas draws Toronto to extend road unbeaten run
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milton Rodriguez scored his first Major League Soccer goal in the 77th minute and FC Dallas tied Toronto FC, 1-1, on Saturday at BMO Field to extend its road unbeaten streak to seven games. Maicon Santos score

<< Wilson four ahead after 54 holes in Canada
Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dean Wilson carded his third straight five- under 65 Saturday to take a four-stroke lead after three rounds of the Canadian Open. Wilson, whose lone win was at the 2006 International, finished 54 holes at 15-

<< Chakvetadze reaches finals in Slovenia
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anna Chakvetadze overcame a rough start Saturday to defeat Polona Hercog and move into the finals of the Slovenia Open. Hercog, a Slovenian, won the first set, 6-0, in 24 minutes and took th

<< Mets' Maine to miss rest of season
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets pitcher John Maine has undergone surgery on his right shoulder that will sideline him for the rest of the 2010 season. The procedure was performed Friday by Dr. Michael Ciccotti in Phil

Rachel Alexandra garners Lady's Secret victory >>
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year, used a stalking ride Saturday to win the $400,000 Lady's Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park. The champion filly won the 1 1/8-mile race by three-lengths over Qu

New York's Barajas leaves game >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mets catcher Rod Barajas left Saturday's game against Los Angeles in the sixth inning with a strained right oblique. The veteran receiver had singled in a run to cut the Dodgers' lead to 2-1 and was re

Giants place Affeldt on disabled list >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have placed pitcher Jeremy Affeldt on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. The veteran left-hander has appeared in 37 games in relief this season and has posted a rec

Bayne claims Nationwide pole at ORP >>
Clermont, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Bayne won his second consecutive pole in the Nationwide Series by posting the fastest lap in Saturday's qualifying for the Kroger 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Bayne turned a lap of

Suzuki, Cust power A's past White Sox >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurt Suzuki had three hits, including a home run, to lead the Oakland Athletics in a 10-2 rout of the Chicago White Sox in the second of three games at Oakland Coliseum. Suzuki, who signed a contract extens

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.