King Felix goes for Mariners at Fenway
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners enter the final leg of a challenging road trip with tonight's opener of a three-game series with the American League East-leading Boston Red Sox from Fenway Park.
The surprising Mariners have acquitted themselves well on the nine-game trek, which began with a weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers -- owners of baseball's best record -- and continued with three straight meetings with the New York Yankees. Seattle is 3-3 so far on the trip after knocking around Yankees ace CC Sabathia in last night's 8-4 victory.
Seattle battered Sabathia for six runs and 10 hits over the game's first 5 2/3 inning and had five players finish with multiple hits on the night. Franklin Gutierrez went 3-for-5 with a solo home run to lead the way, while Russell Branyan belted a towering two-run shot in the ninth inning to cap the scoring.
Ichiro Suzuki and Chris Woodward also knocked in two runs to help the Mariners avoid a series sweep and win for the eighth time in their last 12 games.
Miguel Batista (5-2) collected the win with two scoreless innings in relief of starter Jason Vargas, who lasted just four frames and allowed all four New York runs. The Seattle bullpen combined to hold the Yankees scoreless over the final five innings.
The Mariners, who enter tonight's play trailing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by 3 1/2 games for first place in the AL West, will now take on a Boston club that's a major league-best 25-10 at home this season. Seattle counters by sending out one of the game's most dominant pitchers as of late in ace Felix Hernandez.
Hernandez is 4-0 over his last seven starts and has produced a sensational 0.85 earned run average during that stretch. The 23-year-old phenom has worked at least 6 2/3 innings in each of those games and hasn't suffered a loss since May 29.
The right-hander is coming off a brilliant performance against the Dodgers on Saturday, when Hernandez yielded one unearned run on four hits and fanned nine batters over eight stellar innings.
"He's getting better and better," said Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu after the game. "He was electric [Saturday]. You can't say enough about him."
Hernandez has also held his own against the Red Sox in the past, as he owns a 3-1 record with a 3.05 ERA in six career encounters with Boston. In addition, the native Venezuelan has yet to give up a run in his two previous starts at Fenway Park, having tossed 15 scoreless innings while winning both outings.
The Red Sox hand the ball to 10-game winner Tim Wakefield, with the veteran knuckleballer also carrying a four-decision winning streak into tonight's tilt.
Wakefield put forth one of his best starts of the year Saturday at Atlanta's Turner Field, where he spun six shutout innings in a 1-0 victory over the Braves. He gave up just three hits and walked one over the course of the game.
The 42-year-old has also been quite tough to beat at Fenway, having compiled a 6-0 record with a 3.55 ERA in his seven home starts of 2009. The Red Sox are 12-3 overall in games he's pitched this year.
Wakefield is just 4-9 with a 4.06 ERA in 25 career appearances (15 starts) against Seattle, however, although he defeated the Mariners in Boston with seven innings of two-run ball in June of last season.
The Red Sox had their lead over the second-place Yankees in the AL East extended to three games with Seattle's win last night and enjoyed an off day on Thursday following a wild series in Baltimore. Boston took two of three matchups from the Orioles, but the team's bullpen suffered an epic collapse in a shocking 11-10 defeat on Tuesday. Baltimore scored 10 times over the seventh and eighth innings to rally from a 10-1 deficit.
Boston rebounded with a stirring comeback of its own in Wednesday's finale, putting up four runs in the top of the ninth to force extra innings and earning a 6-5 triumph on Julio Lugo's RBI single in the 11th.
Kevin Youkilis brought the Sox within 5-3 with a two-run homer in the ninth, while Rocco Baldelli delivered a pinch-hit two-RBI single with two outs that tied the contest.
"Obviously we thought we should have won [Tuesday's] game," said Baldelli. "[The Orioles] thought they should have won this game. It was nice to come back and get that win, especially getting on the plane and going home."
The Mariners won two of three games from the Red Sox at Safeco Field from May 15-17 but are just 5-17 over their last 22 visits to Fenway Park. Seattle has not taken a series in Boston since winning two of three tests from August 14-16, 2001.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies limp back home tied atop the NL East after a dreadful road trip. Tonight, they try to improve upon their horrific play in front of their own fans when they open a three-game series against
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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends
We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS. Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned. For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go. As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190). Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet. For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction. On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later. Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick. Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com
New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors
Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season.
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers
In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS.
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”. With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit. Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.
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