Pirates continue set with Marlins
Baseball Betting Lines
08/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins have lost four consecutive games, and an ineffective offense has been a big reason for the team's current woes. They'll try once again to break out of that funk in tonight's clash with a Pittsburgh Pirates squad that will be seeking to record back-to-back wins for the first time in three weeks.
After going a woeful 0-for-27 with runners in scoring position while being swept in a three-game set at Cincinnati over the weekend, the Marlins failed to come through in the clutch as well in a 7-1 defeat to the Pirates in Monday's opener of this four-game series. Florida was 0-for-6 with men in scoring position during last night's contest and managed just five hits for the game.
The Pirates, on the other hand, received three RBI each from Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez and seven strong innings from James McDonald in ending a seven- game losing skid. Andrew McCutchen added a pair of hits, including a solo homer, and scored twice in the win.
Pittsburgh had just returned from a winless six-game road trip in which the club had mustered only 11 runs.
"There's certain factors that come into play on the road that -- just certain intangibles that you don't even realize," said Alvarez after Monday's win. "Just being at home is just more comfortable, more at ease. You have the fans behind you. That helps, believe it or not."
McDonald (2-2) certainly helped as well, as the recent acquisition held Florida's sputtering offense to a run and three hits while striking out six batters in an impressive display.
Marlins starter Chris Volstad (6-9) allowed just two runs over the first five innings, but was charged with three runs while failing to record an out in the sixth. The right-hander exited after loading the bases on a single, walk and a hit batsman, and Jones greeted reliever Taylor Tankersley with a two-run double to give the Pirates a 4-1 advantage.
"The walk and then the hit by pitch was the big thing," Volstad said. "McCutchen is going to get his hits...you can't walk the next guy after that. I just dug myself a hole."
While the Marlins try to get back on track offensively, the team should be able to count on a reliable performance from scheduled starter Ricky Nolasco tonight. The right-hander is 8-2 with a 3.76 earned run average over his past 10 outings and has been terrific on the road this year, having amassed an excellent 9-2 record and a 3.59 ERA in 13 games in visiting parks.
Nolasco bounced back strongly from an August 6 start against St. Louis in which he was rocked for seven runs and 10 hits over five innings with a sharp six-inning stint at Washington this past Thursday. He limited the Nationals to six hits and no runs while striking out eight to garner his team-leading 13th victory of 2010.
The 27-year-old was hit hard in a matchup at PNC Park last season, however, surrendering six runs (five earned) in six innings of a loss to the Pirates, and is just 2-3 in seven lifetime appearances (five starts) against Pittsburgh despite a solid 2.45 ERA over that stretch.
The Pirates, who last registered consecutive wins from July 27-28, will turn to the struggling Zach Duke tonight in hopes of building off Monday's verdict. The 2009 All-Star hasn't produced many positive results as of late, though, as he's 2-8 with a 5.95 ERA in a 10-start span beginning in late May.
Duke has had an especially rough August so far, having gone 0-2 with a 5.82 ERA through three starts this month. He did put forth a respectable showing last Thursday at San Diego, allowing three runs -- two earned -- in six innings, but didn't get any help from the Pittsburgh offense in a 3-0 loss.
The 27-year-old has also had trouble when facing the Marlins in the past. In five previous encounters with Florida, Duke is 0-3 with a 5.76 ERA.
The Marlins halted a string of four straight losses at PNC with Monday's win, the first meeting between the teams this season. Pittsburgh won four of six overall bouts with Florida during the 2009 campaign.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have a chance to pad their AL Central lead over the Chicago White Sox when the two rivals square off tonight in the opener of a three-game series from Target Field. Minnesota is three games ahead of Chi
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Perhaps a matchup with a Colorado Rockies team it has owned in recent years
will help Joe Torr
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nice safety net.
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Chiefs bring in QB Stull >>
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quarterback Bill Stull, who went undrafted after a standout collegiate career
at Pittsburgh.
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Osborne
AL West: Angels running low on time >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have any hopes of
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be eight games beh
Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
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