Double Plays Boosts Lee Into Starts

Baseball Betting Lines

Matt Thornton retired all six batters he faced to pick up his third save of the season.

 

The Cubs grounded into double plays in their opening three at-bats, providing little help offensively as Garza strolled through the first five frames.

 

"I was out of the dugout as the play was developing," Quade said. "I don't manufacture stuff. I was mad. Paul's a good umpire, but I thought he was way off the bag."

 

The home team sends Rodrigo Lopez to the hill in his third start of 2011. The righty threw 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday against the Giants, but suffered the loss after yielding eight hits and four runs -- one earned. In two starts this season, he is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA compared to a 4.00 ERA in nine relief appearances.

 

Lopez is 2-2 with an 8.04 ERA in nine games (five starts) against the Southsiders.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Approaching a couple of team records, Cliff Lee aims to continue his shutout streak this afternoon when he takes the mound for the Phillies, hoping to help his team to a three-game sweep in Toronto. Already the first Phillie to throw three consecutive shutouts since Robin Roberts in 1950, the crafty lefty can tie the Phillies record today. Grover Alexander threw four consecutive shutouts during the 1911 season. Lee's 32 straight shutout innings are already fifth-best in club history.

 

Opposing offenses have struggled to find hits against Lee. He's thrown two-hit shutouts in two of the last three games, those coming against Boston on Tuesday and vs. Florida on June 16. In between those, he limited St. Louis to six hits in another shutout.

 

Roy Halladay beat his former team on Saturday in Philadelphia's 5-3 win. Chase Utley hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning.

 

After spending his first dozen big league seasons in Toronto, Halladay was dealt to the Phillies in December 2009, and in his first game back the crowd of 44,078 gave the two-time Cy Young Award winner a standing ovation.

Wiwin Baseball Betting Blog

<< Humber Warns Milwaukee Down Inning

<< Jeter Against Ball Cleveland

<< Hits Into Beachy Red

<< Home For Royals Time

<< Games Adds Beavan Over Run

Hit Over Games Base >>

Fashion In Catch . Sox Outfielder Carlos Quentin >>

Run Sparks San Of Diego >>

Hits Adds Detroit Over Victory >>

Rodriguez For Open Bogeyed >>

Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog 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