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07/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians may have little hope of finishing in first place in the American League Central, but they've done a fine job of hurting the postseason chances of some of the division's top teams as of late.
Riding a four-game winning streak, the cellar-dwelling Indians head to Minneapolis' Target Field tonight to take on another AL Central champion hopeful, the Minnesota Twins, in the opener of a three-game series.
Cleveland, which came out of the All-Star break 16 games behind front-running Chicago in the division standings, started off its second half in outstanding fashion, taking all four meetings with the contending Detroit Tigers. The Tribe received strong starting pitching in each game of the series, with rookie Jeanmar Gomez continuing the trend in Sunday's 7-2 triumph.
Called up from Triple-A Columbus earlier in the day to make a spot start in place of an ailing Justin Masterson, Gomez yielded two unearned runs and struck out four while walking just one over seven innings in an impressive major league debut. The 22-year-old, who had a suspect 5.70 ERA in 18 starts with the Clippers, allowed five hits and threw 60 of his 93 pitches for strikes.
Jhonny Peralta staked Gomez to an early lead with a three-run inside-the-park homer in the first inning, while Matt LaPorta added an RBI triple later on to help Cleveland record its first four-game sweep of the Tigers since May 31- June 3, 1991. Jayson Nix finished 3-for-5 and contributed an RBI single to the victory.
Peralta gave the Indians a quick 3-0 advantage when his deep drive to center landed over the glove of leaping Detroit outfielder Ryan Raburn, whose momentum carried him through the bullpen door. By the time left fielder Brennan Boesch raced over to grab the loose ball, Peralta was rounding third and on his way to only the eighth inside-the-park home run in Progressive Field history.
"It's the first time that I hit a homer inside the park," Peralta said. "When I saw [Raburn] jump into the wall, I tried to run really fast."
Cleveland, which ranks 12th in the AL in team earned run average, held the Tigers to a total of eight runs over the four games.
Aaron Laffey will attempt to continue the Indians' recent pitching prowess when he takes the mound in tonight's opener. The left-hander has made four starts since being inserted into the rotation in late June and has gone 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA during that stretch.
Laffey's final first-half assignment resulted in a loss, with the swingman surrendering three runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings at Tampa Bay on July 10. He's faced the Twins three times in relief earlier this season, giving up a pair of runs in a span of 3 2/3 frames.
The 25-year-old does own a 4-2 career record against Minnesota, with three of those wins coming in a starting role last season, and sports a 4.71 ERA in his 11 overall encounters (eight starts) with the Twins.
Minnesota has also gotten its post-All Star break slate off to a desired start, taking the final three tests of a critical four-game home set with the AL Central-leading White Sox. That performance has moved the Twins into a second-place tie with Detroit in the standings and within 1 1/2 games of Chicago's lead.
The Twins secured a series win in dramatic fashion on Sunday, scoring four times in the bottom of the ninth inning to deal the White Sox a startling 7-6 defeat. Michael Cuddyer scored the deciding run on a throwing error by Chicago outfielder Alex Rios to cap the improbable comeback.
With the Twins down 6-3 entering their final at-bat, Orlando Hudson and Joe Mauer drew back-to-back walks off Sox closer Bobby Jenks before Jason Kubel singled to bring home a run. Cuddyer followed with a base hit to plate Mauer and bring Minnesota within one, and after Jason Repko reached base via a walk, Delmon Young singled against reliever Sergio Santos to tie the score. Cuddyer had initially stopped at third on the play, but ran home when Rios' throw eluded the cutoff man to complete the rally.
Young also had a two-run homer while Cuddyer ended 3-for-5 with a triple and two RBI for the Twins. Brian Duensing (3-1) did his part as well, tossing four innings of one-run ball in relief of ineffective starter Nick Blackburn.
"I felt a little sluggish, thought I was fighting myself the first couple innings. Duensing said afterward. "The last couple innings I tried not to do as much and just throw strikes."
While the Twins seek to build off yesterday's thrilling win, Scott Baker hopes to continue his season-long success at Target Field when he toes the rubber tonight. The right-hander has compiled a 6-2 record with a 3.28 ERA in nine starts at the first-year ballpark thus far in 2010.
Baker was terrific in his most recent Target Field appearance, limiting Tampa Bay to a run and striking out eight without a walk over seven innings back on July 2. He wasn't as sharp in his subsequent outing, though, permitting five runs and serving up a pair of homers in six innings in a July 8 loss at Toronto.
The Oklahoma State product will be out to avenge a loss to the Tribe at Target Field on April 22, when Baker was reached for six runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. He's 7-6 lifetime against Cleveland with a 3.50 ERA in 17 starts.
Minnesota took two of three tilts from the Indians in that April series in Minneapolis and is 4-2 overall against Cleveland this season.
<< AL Central-leading White Sox continue trip in Seattle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox ended the season's first half as
the hottest team in baseball, but things haven't gotten so smoothly since the
club returned from the All-Star break.
The American League Central leaders will try to
<< Kennison retires as a Chief
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time Kansas City wide receiver Eddie
Kennison signed a contract Monday to announce his retirement as a member of
the Chiefs.
Kennison spent seven of his 13 NFL seasons with the Chiefs, catch
<< Surging Blue Jays to face sliding Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays try to make it four straight wins
when they open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals this evening
at Kauffman Stadium.
The Jays battered the woeful Baltimore Orioles this past weekend,
<< Rays try to get back on track in Baltimore
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wade Davis could be pitching for his spot in the rotation
when the Tampa Bay Rays open a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles
this evening at Camden Yards.
Davis struggled in the first half, going 6-9 with a 4.6
Oosthuizen soars to 15th in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen parlayed his first major
championship victory into a huge jump in the world rankings.
Oosthuizen cruised to a seven-stroke win at the British Open this past weekend
and jumped 39 places f
Cubs hope to stay hot versus Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The confidence level in the Windy City has to be high after
how easily the Chicago Cubs handled the two-time defending National League
champion Philadelphia Phillies this weekend at Wrigley Field.
Chicago's chances of keep
Phillies aiming to get on track against first-place Cardinals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have handled the St. Louis
Cardinals pretty conveniently the past few years. That may change when the
struggling Phils pay a visit to Busch Stadium Monday for the first of four
consecutive matchups w
Jimenez goes for win No. 16 in south Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Rockies and Marlins have struggled on offense in
the second half. Given Tuesday's pitching matchup, neither team is likely to
break out at the plate on Monday night.
National League All-Star starter Ubaldo Ji
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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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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