Mound Presence: A's lefty Braden faces Yankees again
Baseball Betting Lines
09/02/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics starter Dallas Braden won't have to worry
about Alex Rodriguez running across his pitching mound this afternoon due to
the slugging third baseman currently being on the disabled list.
Braden, making his first appearance against the Yankees since his verbal spat
with A-Rod, will have plenty of other concerns in today's finale of a four-
game series as New York's CC Sabathia aims to become baseball's first 19-game
winner and extend his 20-start home unbeaten streak.
The 26-year-old Braden got the best of the Yankees at home on April 22 with
six innings of two-run ball, Oakland's lone victory in nine meetings with New
York this year, but his victory was overshadowed by his jawing with Rodriguez
after the former MVP jogged across the pitcher's mound following a fouled-off
pitch.
Braden said he felt Rodriguez violated an unwritten rule in baseball.
"You don't run across a pitcher's mound in between an inning or during a
game," Braden said. "I was just dumbfounded that he would let that slip his
mind. If he wants to run across the pitcher's mound, let him go run laps in
the bullpen."
Braden and Rodriguez won't rematch tonight as the New York third baseman has
been on the DL since Aug. 21 due to a strained left calf.
"He just told me to get off his mound," Rodriguez said. "It was a little
surprising, I never quite heard that, especially from a guy that has a handful
of wins in his career."
Perhaps motivated by Rodriguez's comments, Braden threw a perfect game three
starts after the Yankees win versus the Rays on May 9. He hurled his second
career shutout and fifth complete game of the season last time out on Friday
in Texas, a four-hitter in which he did not walk a batter.
The left-hander improved to 3-1 over his last four starts and is 9-9 with a
3.28 earned run average this year. Braden, though, is just 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA
in five games versus the Yankees, two starts.
Braden will find it tough to pick up a win at Yankee Stadium today given that
Sabathia hasn't lost on his home mound in over a year. He is 15-0 with a 2.17
ERA over his 20-game home unbeaten streak that dates back to July 18, 2009 and
is the longest for a New York pitcher since Ron Guidry posted 16 straight
winning decisions at home in 1985-86.
The 30-year-old Sabathia has won his last five starts overall, but was a
little off in his last win at the White Sox on Saturday as he allowed five
runs over seven innings in a 12-9 triumph. The left-hander still became
baseball's first 18-game winner and has a 3.14 ERA on the season.
After losing to Braden back in April, Sabathia struck out 10 batters over 7
2/3 innings of one-run ball to best hosting Oakland on July 6. He improved to
6-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 20 career starts against the A's.
While Braden is starting opposite one of the top pitchers in baseball, he also
has to deal with a red-hot Mark Teixeira, who is 8-for-10 in this series with
two homers and seven RBI. New York's first baseman had three hits and three
RBI in last night's 4-3 victory, helping A.J. Burnett earn his first victory
since July 28.
"It is a good win for me, but my numbers are not important. I'm trying to get
some good momentum in this last month," said Burnett after allowing three runs
over six innings.
New York's fifth straight win -- its longest since a seven-game run from July
3-9 -- maintained a one-game lead over the Rays at the top of the American
League East standings.
Brett Anderson took the loss for Oakland despite allowing a single earned run
and eight hits in six innings. However, it was the lefty's throwing error that
ultimately led to three Yankee runs in the second.
Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a two-run homer in the setback, which dropped Oakland to
4-5 on a 10-game road trip and 9 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Texas.
New York has won six in a row over Oakland and has won 19 of the past 22
meetings between the clubs.
<< LPGA Taiwan to start in 2011
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The LPGA Tour announced Thursday that the
LPGA Taiwan has been scheduled for October 2011 at Sunrise Golf & Country
Club.
The LPGA-sanctioned event will be co-sponsored by the Golf Associati
<< Skidding Indians head out west to battle Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians will take their four-game losing
streak out west for seven straight games starting with tonight's opener of a
four-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.
The Indians are coming off
<< Twins seek to sweep Tigers out of Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins will
continue their homestand tonight and try for a second sweep of the Detroit
Tigers this season in the finale of a three-game series at Target Field.
The Twins have wo
<< Red Sox aim to stay in playoff mix, take series from O's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have missed the playoffs only once in
the previous seven years, but are in danger of being left out for the first
time since the 2006 campaign.
The Red Sox are seven games off the wild card lead and eigh
<< Golf Tidbits: Too little, too late for PGA Tour?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A week after Jim Furyk overslept and
missed his pro-am tee time, the PGA Tour suspended its own rule that
disqualifies a player for missing a pro-am.
But has the damage been done? Furyk would probably argu
Phillies make a quick stop at Colorado >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Given how well the Phillies have played out west over the
last week, they certainly won't mind staying there for an extra game. It
doesn't hurt that its a matchup against the Rockies either.
Philadelphia will try
Braves' Hudson aims to shut down Mets in series finale >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Offense has been tough to come by for the Mets in their
current series with the Braves. It should be even tougher tonight with Tim
Hudson, the National League's earned run average leader, set to take the hill.
Huds
USA finishes unbeaten in FIBA preliminary round >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Gordon scored a game-high 21 points,
leading the United States in a 92-57 rout of Tunisia to finish up an
unblemished record in the preliminary round of the 2010 FIBA World
Champio
Golf Course Review - TPC Jasna Polana >>
Princeton, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS AND STATS: Course Architect: Gary
Player (1998). Year Opened: June, 1998. Location: Princeton, New Jersey.
Slope: 144. Rating: 74.8. Par: 72. Yardage: 7,098.
Hole-by-Hole:
1 - Par 4 396 Yds 10 - P
Temple Owls hope to rule MAC roost >>
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Here's a first: Temple is picked to win the MAC.Gone are the days when it seemed like a winless season for the Owls was a real possibility. Coach Al Golden says fans approach him asking for a bowl game in a warmer climate and coun
MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.
(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.
Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season.
MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.
Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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