Tigers go for a road win against Price
Baseball Betting Lines
07/29/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been over a month since the Detroit Tigers last won a
game on the road. A matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays and David Price doesn't
seem to bode well for the struggling club's chances of ending that drought.
Price will attempt to become the American League's first 14-game winner when
he takes the mound this afternoon for the Rays, who'll be aiming for a series
sweep of the fading Tigers when these teams square off again at Tropicana
Field.
Tampa Bay has taken the first three bouts of this set and dealt Detroit a
ninth consecutive road defeat with Wednesday's 7-4 decision. The losing streak
is the Tigers' longest in away games since the club dropped 10 in a row from
September 16-October 2, 2005.
The Rays, on the other hand, have now won five straight contests and kept pace
with the New York Yankees in the race for first place in the AL East as well
as the best overall record in baseball. Tampa improved to 62-38 on the year,
two games back of the Yankees for the top spot.
Tampa Bay used a 14-hit attack to prevail last night, with Evan Longoria
breaking out of an 0-for-18 skid with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate that
included a two-run homer. Carlos Pena added an RBI single and ended 2-for-3 on
the evening.
The Rays scored five times over the first four innings to help Jeff Niemann
(9-3) record his ninth win of the season. The towering right-hander labored
through six innings and allowed four runs on eight hits, two of which were
homers.
"It's nice to get a win on a night when we probably didn't deserve one,"
Niemann said. "The defense and offense really helped me out [Wednesday]."
Eddie Bonine (4-1), making his first start of 2010, took the loss for Detroit
after being tagged for five runs and eight hits before being removed after 3
1/3 innings.
Johnny Damon went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI in the Tigers' latest loss,
while Miguel Cabrera came through with a solo shot off Niemann in the top of
the sixth.
Detroit has now lost 12 of its last 15 tests and has fallen five games behind
front-running Chicago in the AL Central standings. A lack of offense has been
one reason for the Tigers' woes, as the team has averaged a mere 2.9 runs per
game over that poor stretch.
The Tigers did make a move towards trying to bolster their injury-plagued
lineup on Wednesday, acquiring infielder Jhonny Peralta from Cleveland in
exchange for minor-league pitcher Giovanni Soto. The 28-year-old is expected
to serve as Detroit's third baseman with Brandon Inge likely sidelined for at
least another month with a fractured finger.
Tampa Bay will probably sit out two regulars this afternoon, with center
fielder B.J. Upton slated to miss a second straight game with a sprained ankle
and right fielder Ben Zobrist bothered by a sore back that forced him to leave
Wednesday's win after just three innings.
The Rays will have a healthy Price, who enters today's tilt with a glossy 13-5
record and 2.90 earned run average in 19 starts and is presently tied with the
New York Yankees' CC Sabathia and Minnesota's Carl Pavano for the AL lead in
wins. The 2010 All-Star Game starter has been even more impressive at home,
where he boasts a 6-1 mark along with a splendid 2.04 ERA and has held the
opposition to a .200 average this season.
The 2007 No. 1 overall pick has won his last three starts at Tropicana Field,
but his most recent victory came on the road this past Saturday. Facing the
Cleveland Indians, Price allowed three runs and just three hits over seven
innings to help the Rays post a 6-3 decision.
Price also performed well in his only previous start against the Tigers,
firing 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball to pick up a win at Comerica Park on
August 29 of last season.
Detroit will send out another member of that 2007 first-round class in the
finale, with youngster Rick Porcello getting the call for the visitors. The
Tigers sophomore hasn't achieved nearly the degree of success Price has this
season, however, nor has he been able to build off a very promising rookie
campaign of 2009.
A 14-game winner as a 20-year-old last season, Porcello has slipped to a 4-8
record and produced a subpar 5.55 ERA in 15 starts thus far in 2010. Those
struggles earned the right-hander a brief banishment to the minors in mid-
June, but he's pitched better since returning after the All-Star break.
Porcello yielded just one run and walked none over eight strong innings during
a no-decision at Cleveland on July 17, then surrendered three runs in six
frames in a home defeat to Toronto on Saturday. It was the fourth straight
losing decision for the New Jersey native, who hasn't won in the majors since
May 23.
Porcello was sharp in his lone career start versus Tampa Bay, permitting just
one run through 5 2/3 innings in a win at Comerica Park last August.
Prior to taking the first three games of this series, the Rays had lost in
eight of their last 11 meetings with Detroit. The Tigers swept a three-game
set in their lone trip to Tropicana Field last season.
<< Lowe tries to lead Braves to series win in D.C.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves shoot for a series win this afternoon
when they play the rubber match of their three-game series with the Washington
Nationals at Nationals Park.
A 3-0 loser in Tuesday's opener, Atlanta bounced back to
<< Newcastle signs goalie Krul to four-year deal
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle signed goalkeeper Tim Krul to
a four-year contract on Thursday.
Krul, 22, joined Newcastle in 2005 and has made seven starts and played twice
as a substitute. His new deal runs through the 20
<< Top-seeded Youzhny reaches Gstaad quarters
Gstaad, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian top seed Mikhail Youzhny
was a second-round winner Thursday at the Swiss Open Gstaad.
The world No. 14 Youzhny handled Swiss wild card Alexander Sadecky 7-5, 6-4 on
the clay courts at Roy
<< Lightning sign trio of defensemen
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed defenseman
Vladimir Mihalik and inked free agent defensemen Mathieu Roy and Mike Vernace
to one-year, two-way contracts.
Mihalik appeared in four games for the Bolts last
<< Chiefs ink third-rounder OL Asamoah
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs have signed
offensive lineman Jon Asamoah, one of their third-round picks in April's
draft.
Asamoah, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound guard, was selected 68th overall out
Royals welcome Orioles to Kansas City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of last-place teams seeking to end lengthy losing
streaks begin a four-game series tonight at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium,
where the slumping Royals hope to get well at the expense of the lowly
Baltimore Orioles.
Jimenez hopes to bring Rockies' skid to a close in finale with Pirates >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suddenly slumping right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez has a few
positives going for him today when he gets the call for the Colorado Rockies
in the third and final game of their series with the visiting Pittsburgh
Pirates at Coors Fi
Giants, Posey aim to keep rolling in finale with Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buster Posey tries to match a San Francisco rookie record
by hitting in his 22nd straight game this afternoon, while fellow rookie
Madison Bumgarner shoots for a fifth straight win when the San Francisco
Giants complete a fou
Indiana State seeking OC after Walters' departure >>
Terre Haute, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana State is conducting a fast search
to replace its offensive coordinator after Troy Walters resigned earlier this
week to accept the position of wide receivers coach at Texas A&M.
In his only seas
Padres send out Latos in hopes of taking set from Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mat Latos attempts to win his seventh straight decision
this evening, when the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers close out a
three-game series at Petco Park.
Latos, who had recently been sidelined with a strained le
SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
your source for online betting
As the web was just getting it's footing in the business world in 1997, My Sportsbook was breaking new
ground in the online sportsbook arena. Offering over 20 Las Vegas Games and backed by Sporting Bet UK,
the largest publicly traded Internet gaming company in the world today, My Sportsbook offers betting lines
on every major sporting event in the world, including Online MLB Baseball Betting. With a wide array of bonuses including a 10% Free Money bonus
to all new customers, My Sportsbook is a top online sportsbook, poker room, casino and racebook -- join today!For those that feel that a site like My Sportsbook is only a sportsbook we would like to introduce you to
a place where a single login allows you to not only bet on every major sporting event in the world but also
to bet on horses at over 90 different tracks or play at over 20 Las Vegas style table games in their top online
casino. My Sportsbook has won many awards for it's site design and ease of use as well as it's 24/7
customer support. Get all your gaming done in one spot - try My Sportsbook Today!
|
Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
read more
|
online sportsbook and casino
Since 2000, Best eCasino has maintained a 98.5% payout rate on all their more than 20 Las Vegas style games.
Each of their award winning games including, blackjack (and blackjack super 7s), Baccarat, Roulette and Craps are
available as either a downloadable program or as java programs that can be played directly within your browser. Don't
know how to play a certain game? Read the details and strategy here and start with their Play for Fun section which
allows you to practice a game before taking on the casino. Let's see any Vegas casino do that... Best eCasino doesn't stop there, they now offer horse wagering and sportsbook lines to round off all the online
gaming industry have to offer. They are consistently at the forefront of the industry with new innovations consistently
starting with their site. These guys are the entrepreneur's of the online gaming world and they set the standard for others
to follow. So bet with a leader that's backed by the largest online gaming company in the world with 24 hour customer support,
Best eCasino.
|
