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Jays, Marcum hope to avoid brooms in ClevelandBaseball Betting Lines07/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blue Jays were left without an ace when they traded Roy Halladay this past offseason, but Shaun Marcum has wasted little time claiming ownership of the title. Marcum will try to prevent his Toronto squad from getting swept in four games by Cleveland for the first time in nearly 25 years and deny the Indians a season-best fifth straight victory in this afternoon's finale at Progressive Field. The right-handed Marcum missed all of 2009 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but is 7-3 with a 3.14 earned run average in 16 starts so far this season. A 12-game winner in 2007, Marcum beat the Phillies with six innings of one-run ball, striking out six while improving to 2-0 over his last three starts with a 2.00 ERA. "The pitch that was getting him strikeouts and groundouts when we needed it, or a fly ball, was his changeup," Toronto catcher John Buck told Toronto's website. "It was kind of just the equalizer that we could always go to. It was really dropping off the table well." The 28-year-old has never beaten the Indians, going 0-2 with a 4.38 ERA in six games (four starts) against them. Toronto hasn't beaten anybody since Marcum's last start as it dropped its finale with Philadelphia on Sunday before dropping the first three tests of this series, plating just a single run in two of them. The Blue Jays have now lost eight of their last 10 to fall eight games back of the Yankees for first place in the American League East. Nick Green's RBI infield single in the seventh inning accounted for Toronto's only offense as Cleveland starter Aaron Laffey threw six-plus innings of one- run ball. "It's just baseball. It's just the way it goes sometimes," said Jays manager Cito Gaston. "Last year, it was the other way around. This year, it seems to be that guys that are struggling, they seem to be up there with guys on base. That's just the way it is with baseball." Toronto is hitting just .221 over its last 10 games, averaging just 2.8 runs per game in that span. The Blue Jays also haven't homered in three straight games for the first time this season. "I was on a better page -- me and [catcher Carlos Santana]," Laffey said. "We did a great job of changing speeds and calling good pitches in good counts, and I was able to execute for the most part." While the Blue Jays' bats are struggling, the Indians have a host of players riding hot streaks. Matt LaPorta homered for the second straight game in last night's victory, while Shin-Soo Choo connected on his fifth homer in eight games. Santana added two hits and an RBI, giving him a .345 average over his first 18 MLB games. Cleveland, which lost 11 of 12 before its current four-game win streak, was swept at home by Toronto in early May, but tonight the Indians can sweep the Blue Jays in four games for the first time since doing so at home from Aug. 28-31, 1995. For that to happen, they will need Justin Masterson to pitch better than he has as of late. The 25-year-old is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA in his last three starts, including a loss to Cincinnati on Saturday in which he allowed six runs on six hits and four walks over five-plus innings. Masterson fell to 2-7 on the season with a 5.21 ERA and will make his first career start versus the Blue Jays tonight. The right-hander has faced them seven times in relief, pitching to a 2.89 ERA over 9 1/3 total innings.
<< Zvonareva reaches Wimbledon final
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian Vera Zvonareva landed in her first career Grand Slam final on Thursday by overcoming upstart Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in semifinal action at Wimbledon 2010. The 21st-seeded Zvonareva's oppon
<< Ex-NHLer Hinote joins Blue Jackets staff
<< Report: Bucks reach deal with Gooden
<< Agent: Byron Scott accepts Cavs' job
<< Now a free agent, King James awaits his suitors
Yanks, Sabathia aim to avoid sweep at hands of Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red-hot Yankees ace CC Sabathia puts his five-start winning streak and unblemished home record on the line this afternoon against the Seattle Mariners in the finale of a three-game series from the Bronx. Sabathia has pitch
A's Cahill puts unbeaten streak on the line against Orioles >>
Pavano goes for Twins in opener with Rays >>
Santana leads Mets into series opener at Nationals Park >>
Giants kick off road trip in Colorado >>
MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet. Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots. Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
Super Bowl 2009 BettingSuper Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder. Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while. Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books. If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl. Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX. By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI. In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite. So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs. While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl. There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog. In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl: SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots. XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired. XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers. Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard |
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