07/06/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - The Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals will wrap up a four-game series this afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds have won the first three tests of this series, including Saturday's 3-2 victory. Jerry Hairston Jr. singled to start the ninth, stole second, and scored the winning run on a Brandon Phillips single to lead the way.
Hairston was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Phillips had two hits and two runs batted in. Francisco Cordero was handed the win despite his fourth blown save of the season, having allowed a run on one hit and a walk in the ninth.
Reds starter Josh Fogg, just off the disabled list, tossed six innings of one- run ball on six hits in taking Aaron Harang's spot in the rotation. Harang had to be skipped after experiencing stiffness in his right forearm.
Stud pitcher Edinson Volquez gets the nod for the Reds on Sunday. He is 10-3 with a 2.24 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) this season. Volquez last pitched on Tuesday versus Pittsburgh, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-5 setback for the no-decision.
Volquez has never faced Washington in his career.
The Nationals have lost four in a row. In Saturday's setback to the Reds, Nationals starter Tim Redding equaled Fogg with six innings of one-run ball. Redding helped himself with an RBI single in recording his ninth straight no- decision. Jesus Flores tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the road ninth to record the other RBI for Washington, which has five of six games overall.
Joel Hanrahan took the loss for Washington in relief.
Rookie Collin Balester gets the ball for the Nats on Sunday. He made his debut on Tuesday at Florida, allowing one run in five frames of a 9-6 triumph. The righty had a no-hitter through four innings in South Beach.
He will face the Reds for the first time today.
Washington took six of seven from the Reds last season.
<< Nadal takes opening set of Wimbledon final
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal has captured the opening set
of the men's final at Wimbledon, 6-4, over Roger Federer.
Nadal gained a quick break of serve in the third game when Federer managed to
put only one first serve
<< Wimbledon men's final under way
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Play has begun in the men's final at
Wimbledon after a rain delay of nearly 30 minutes.
Roger Federer will try for his sixth straight title at the All England Club
and will do so against Rafael
<< Rain delays start of Wimbledon final
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rain has delayed the start of the men's
final at Wimbledon.
Roger Federer will try for his sixth straight title at the All England Club
and will do so against Rafael Nadal. Federer has beaten Nadal
<< Mariners edge Tigers
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Clement delivered a pair of home runs,
including a game-winning, two-run shot in the eighth, as the Seattle Mariners
downed the Detroit Tigers, 3-2, in the third of a four-game set at Safeco
Field.
Phillies sign closer Lidge to three-year extension >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies announced on
Sunday they have agreed to terms with closer Brad Lidge on a contract
extension through 2011.
Lidge will get $37.5 million over the next three years wit
Angels, Jays wrap up set in Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League West-leading LA Angels of Anaheim are
set to play the rubber match of a three-game weekend set against the Toronto
Blue Jays.
On Saturday, Alex Rios went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs, and Vernon
Lee leads Tribe in finale at Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have lost seven consecutive games,
and they will attempt to avoid a weekend sweep at the hands of the red-hot
Minnesota Twins today at the Metrodome.
At this point, it would be surprising i
A's wrap up set with White Sox in Windy City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics conclude a
four-game series this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.
In Saturday's game, Nick Swisher, Brian Anderson and Alexi Ramirez each
homered to back a terrific
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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