Astros go for sweep of Pirates

Baseball Betting Lines

07/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros may not have provided Roy Oswalt much run support over the course of this season, but the team has had little trouble generating offense in its battles with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Houston seeks to remain unbeaten against the road-challenged Pirates in 2010 when these two National League Central foes wrap up a three-game series this afternoon at Minute Maid Park.

The Astros have taken the first two tests of this set and moved to 5-0 versus Pittsburgh this season with last night's 6-3 victory. Houston used a rare power display to prevail on Wednesday, with the club slugging a season-high four home runs for the game.

Carlos Lee had a two-run homer and Jeff Keppinger, Lance Berkman and Hunter Pence each delivered solo blasts for Houston, which has amassed a total of 31 runs in its five victories over the Pirates this year.

"It's nice to see our 2-3-4-5 hitters hit those home runs," Astros manager Brad Mills said afterward.

Three of those long balls came off of Pirates starter Daniel McCutchen (1-4), who was reached for four runs in five innings of work.

"He battled but made mistakes that hurt," said Pirates manager John Russell of McCutchen.

Oswalt hopes his teammates can remain swinging hot bats when he takes the ball for today's finale. The Astros have averaged a modest 2.76 runs per game over the ace pitcher's 17 starts, which helps explain the unwanted 5-10 season record Oswalt carries into this matchup. In his last three mound trips, Houston has managed a paltry two runs combined.

The three-time All-Star pitched extremely well this past Friday in San Diego, holding the NL West-leading Padres to three hits and striking out seven over seven shutout innings, but left with the contest still scoreless. Oswalt took a loss in each of his two previous starts and will be searching for his first win since June 16.

The 32-year-old did defeat the Pirates in Pittsburgh back on April 23 by allowing three runs -- two earned -- over seven effective innings and sports a strong 14-7 record with a 2.62 earned run average in 27 career games (26 starts) against the Bucs. Oswalt hasn't fared well at home this season, however, having compiled a poor 1-8 mark with a 3.98 ERA in 10 assignments held at Minute Maid Park.

Houston will be counting on another extended outing from Oswalt, with Brian Moehler forced to leave Wednesday's test after only three shutout innings due to a strained right groin. Casey Daigle (1-1) was credited with the win after recording two scoreless frames in relief.

Wednesday's setback was the 20th in the past 22 road games for Pittsburgh and dropped the team to an awful 11-34 as the visitor this season, the second- worst away mark in the majors. The Pirates have also lost in 13 of their past 16 meetings with the Astros in Houston, as well as eight of the last nine overall encounters between the divisional rivals.

Pittsburgh will turn to Ross Ohlendorf today in an attempt to avoid a sweep, while the big right-hander tries to build off his best effort of the season.

Against Philadelphia this past Friday, Ohlendorf yielded five hits and struck out eight batters over seven shutout innings to notch a long-awaited first win of 2010. The 27-year-old also pitched well in a no-decision five days earlier, limiting Oakland to two unearned runs and just two hits through six frames on June 27.

Prior to those two starts, Ohlendorf had gone 0-6 with a 5.43 over his first 10 appearances of the year.

The Princeton product, an 11-game winner for the Bucs last season, has historically struggled when facing the Astros. Ohlendorf has lost all five of his career starts against Houston and pitched to a lackluster 7.57 ERA in seven lifetime appearances in this series.

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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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