Lincecum goes after third straight complete game against Astros
Baseball Betting Lines
07/04/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum hopes for the same type of run support San Francisco provided Ryan Sadowski in the opener of this set when the Giants play the middle test of their three-game series with the Houston Astros at AT&T Park.
Although, considering the way Lincecum has been pitching of late, he may not need it.
The NL's reigning Cy Young Award winner, who was just named the NL's Pitcher of the Month for June, won for the fourth time in his last five starts and for the eighth time in his last nine decisions on Monday in St. Louis, as he tossed a two-hit shutout to improve to 8-2, while lowering his earned run average to 2.37. He also struck out eight and has fanned at least that many in his last four starts, while leading the league in that category with 132.
"It was one of his best games. His fastball was moving, he had command of all his pitches. He was just locked in out there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of his ace.
It was his second consecutive complete game and his third in four starts, two of which have been shutouts.
"He wants to be the guy to complete a game," Bochy added. "That's the mentality you want your starters to have."
Lincecum, who has allowed two runs or less in seven of his last eight outings, is 1-0 in four starts against the Astros with a 2.13 ERA.
San Francisco's offense exploded early on Friday, as it scored a season-high 13 runs over the first three innings in a 13-0 win.
Sadowski (2-0) followed up six shutout innings in his big league debut on Sunday with seven more scoreless innings and allowed just three hits and a walk while fanning four for San Francisco, which was coming off a 5-5 road trip.
Nate Schierholtz and Edgar Renteria each contributed three hits to the onslaught, Pablo Sandoval added two more, including a homer and three RBI, and Travis Ishikawa belted a three-run homer for the victors.
"We don't do that very often, but the offense was there," said Bochy. "(Sadowski) was good. He was outstanding. We had it all going tonight: offense, pitching. It was good to see the guys bounce back."
Houston starter Felipe Paulino (2-5) lasted just two innings, getting tattooed for nine runs -- eight earned -- on nine hits for the Astros, who lost the opener of this three-game set after taking three of four from San Diego.
"He just didn't have good location," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said of his starter. "[His] curveball wasn't as good as it was before. Probably got too many pitches in the zone. He didn't hit his spots very well and seemed like they knew what was coming the way they were swinging."
Houston will turn to veteran righty Russ Ortiz, who is 3-3 with a 3.36 ERA. Ortiz, who started his career with the Giants, did not get a decision on Sunday against Detroit, despite giving up just two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings of a 4-3 loss.
Ortiz has faced his former team seven times and is 0-3 in those outings with a 7.46 ERA.
Drafted by San Francisco in 1995, Ortiz went 67-44 from 1998 through 2002 with the Giants before leaving via trade in 2002. After stops in Arizona and Baltimore, Ortiz returned to San Francisco in 2007 and appeared in 12 games before undergoing an operation on his throwing elbow that cost him the 2008 season.
Houston and San Francisco are meeting for the first time since the Astros took seven of the eight meetings a year ago. Houston went 3-1 at AT&T Park in 2008.
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens was reportedly not among the 100-plus players who tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003, when the league conducted an anonymo
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San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following the Giants' 13-0 win over the
Astros, the team optioned infielder Matt Downs to Triple-A Fresno to make room
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The 25-ye
<< Twins place Slowey on DL; recall Swarzak
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following the Twins' 16-inning 11-9 loss to
the Tigers, Minnesota placed pitcher Kevin Slowey on the 15-day disabled list
with a strained right wrist.
Slowey started on the mound for the Twins Friday bu
<< Raburn, Tigers use three-run 16th to edge Twins
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Raburn's RBI single in the 16th
proved to be the game-winner as the Detroit Tigers took an 11-9 win over the
Minnesota Twins in a 16-inning contest to open a three-get set at the
Metrodo
<< Huff leads O's past Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff went 2-for-4 with a three-run home
run, as the Baltimore Orioles hung on to edge the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim, 6-4, in the second test of a four-game series.
Luke Scott stroked a two-ru
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will take to the field this evening, as they host the Baltimore Orioles in the second matchup of a three-game stint at Angel Stadium. Sean O'Sullivan has been a solid fill in for an Ange
Rays hope the Price is right in Arlington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Still trying to work out some kinks, the Tampa Bay's
phenom lefty David Price will take the hill this evening against the hard-
hitting Texas Rangers in the second contest of a three-game stint.
Price, a playoff hero for
Last place teams continue set in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The cellar dwellers from the AL Central and AL West will
collide once again this evening when the Cleveland Indians host the Oakland
Athletics at Progressive Field.
Toeing the rubber this evening for Oakland will be Vin Ma
Halladay, Wang square off in Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In his second start since coming off the disabled list, Roy
Halladay will take the mound for the Blue Jays when Toronto takes on the New
York Yankees in the second matchup of a four-game stint at Yankee Stadium.
The strong
Moyer shoots for third straight win in middle tilt with Mets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies hope Jamie Moyer can give them
the same type of effort that Rodrigo Lopez did on Friday, when they continue
their three-game series against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
Lopez (1-0), w
FOOTBALL BETTING LINES
NFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.