Posts Tagged ‘mlb’
World Series Game 1 A great pitching matchup begins the World Series on Wednesday night as the New York Yankees host the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1. It will be Cliff Lee going for the Phillies while CC Sabathia takes the mound for the Yankees. These former teammates have pitched extremely well during the postseason and each could get three starts in this series if it goes seven games. The Yankees are a -163 favorite with a total of 7.5 at bookmaker sportsbook Unlike past World Series matchups this one has everything. Each team has a premier ace pitcher, both teams have MVP sluggers and both teams can hit home runs. The teams met earlier this season for a series at Yankee Stadium and the Phillies took two of three. The Phillies are trying to become the first team to repeat as World Series champs since the 1998-2000 Yankees, and the first team to do it in the National League since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees are well aware that it won’t be easy against the defending champs. “They’re the defending champs. They’re playing extremely well,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We know they’re an extremely tough opponent.” The Yankees had the most wins in baseball betting this season and had little trouble getting past Minnesota and the Angels in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Wednesday’s game should be a great duel as Lee is 2-0 in three starts this postseason with a 0.74 ERA. Sabathia is 3-0 this postseason with a 1.19 ERA. The only thing that might prevent a pitcher’s duel is their career numbers. Sabathia is 1-2 with a 5.55 ERA in four career starts against the Phillies while Lee is 4-4 with a 5.02 ERA in nine career starts against New York. The Phillies are 8-3 in their last 11 games as a road underdog. The Phillies are 6-2 in Lee’s last 8 road starts. The Yankees are 41-10 in their last 51 home games. The Yankees are 10-1 in Sabathia’s last 11 starts as a home favorite. Tonights Pick: Phillies
Philadelphia at N.Y. Yankees
Wednesday, 7:57 pm Eastern – Fox
Alex Rodriguez has been superb in the postseason and Sabathia has been almost unhittable. On the other side, the Phillies got amazing pitching from Cliff Lee while Ryan Howard had 14 RBIs in nine games against Colorado and the Dodgers this postseason.
Tags: baseball, betting, mlb, phillies, sports, World Series, yankees
MLB Teams to Watch in the second half With the second half upon us, it is easy to focus on the front runners but there are some teams that have great value right now and have yet to be looked at seriously. Playing these teams now can be very profitable in the right spot. Houston Astros: Houston is just 3 games back as the writing of this article. With two solid starting pitchers in Oswalt and Rodriquez the Astros can play with anyone. They currently are proving that by the way they are playing in the recent series against the Dodgers. The oldest team in baseball has experience and can put a run together in the second half. Seattle Mariners: The Mariners are just four games back and they are flying under the radar with LA and Texas fighting for the lead. They have some solid starting pitching and they are getting a surprising year from Gutierrez and can stay in the pennant race. Atlanta Braves: The braves are 6.5 games out but they do have solid pitching and they have Bobby Cox. With the most games in division in the second half of the year they should be able to control their destiny in the division. They will make a run at the East and will be in the wildcard race.
Chicago White Sox: The White Sox have crept to just 1.5 games behind the division leading Tigers. The pitching can be trouble at times but they play well on the road and that is a key in baseball. They have flown under the radar sandwiched between Detroit and the Twins but are always worth a look.
Tags: Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, mlb, Seattle Mariners
MLB All-Star Game SBG Global Opening Line: American - 110 , Total 9.5 Flat The National League will try and end the American League’s recent dominance in the All-Star game as the teams meet on Tuesday night in St. Louis. The American League is 11-0-1 in the last 12 All-Star games. Since 2003, the winner of the game has received home field advantage in the World Series although that advantage hasn’t meant much as the leagues have split the last six World Series. Bookmaker reports that early MLB Betting has the public taking American on the Road. Toronto’s Roy Halladay is the American League starter. He is 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA. Halladay was picked by American League manager Joe Maddon over Kansas City’s Zack Grienke who actually has better numbers. “It’s very difficult to pick that one guy,” Maddon said, “It’s not an easy decision to make. Based on this season and the body of work, I thought he deserved the nod.” Halladay is the third different Blue Jay to start an All-Star Game, joining David Wells in 2000 and Dave Stieb in 1983 and ‘84. The American League lineup has Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki leading off followed by New York’s Derek Jeter, Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, New York’s Mark Teixeira, Boston’s Jason Bay, Texas’s Josh Hamilton, Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria, Toronto’s Aaron Hill and Halladay. Florida’s Hanley Ramirez leads off for the National League followed by Philadelphia’s Chase Utley, Pujols, Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, Philadelphia’s Raul Ibanez, New York’s David Wright, Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino, Yadier Molina of St. Louis and Lincecum. SBG Global Current Line: American - 113 , Total 9.5 Under – 115 The American League has won the last six All-Star Games, including last year’s 4-3 win in 15 innings. The last time the MLB Betting National League won was in 1996 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Pick: National
Tuesday, 8:20 pm Eastern – Fox
The National League has two things going for them this year as they try and break the American League’s winning streak. They have the best player in baseball in Albert Pujols and they have the best pitcher in the game in Tim Lincecum on the mound. Pujols is hitting .332 (fourth in the NL) with 32 homers and 87 RBIs (both lead the majors). Lincecum is 10-2 with a 2.33 ERA this season. Last season he missed out on the All-Star game due to illness but this year he gets the start. “This is obviously a great accomplishment for me,” Lincecum told MLB.com, “I’m just excited to be a member of this team again.” Lincecum leads the league in strikeouts with 149. Lincecum will be the fifth different San Francisco Giants pitcher to start an All-Star Game. Jason Schmidt started in 2003, while Rick Reuschel started the 1989 game and Vida Blue started in 1978. Juan Marichal started in 1965 and in 1967.
Tags: All-Star, baseball, mlb, sports
Home Run Derby Preview The 2009 Home Run Derby on Monday will feature a number of top home run hitters including local favorite Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols leads the league in home runs while San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez is second. Gonzalez is also in the contest along with Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder, Texas’ Nelson Cruz, Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena and Detroit’s Brandon Inge. While the list may not seem imposing other than Pujols it is very representative of the league leaders. Pujols leads the National League and is the favorite in Home Run Derby odds while Gonzalez is second and Howard and Fielder are tied for fifth. Pena leads the American League with Cruz second and Inge tied for fourth. Howard won the Home Run Derby in 2006 while Pujols was the runner-up to Garret Anderson in the 2003 event. Current HR Derby Homerun Odds from Bookmaker Sportsbook ALBERT PUJOLS +180 Many of the players around baseball didn’t want to compete in the Home Run Derby because they fear it will mess up their swing but not Minnesota’s Joe Mauer. “I just think it’s a great event,” Mauer said. “Home Run Derby — I always told my buddies when we were younger — we always played it in the back yard and stuff like that. I always told them, if I ever had the opportunity to do it, I would jump at it, and it happened this year.” Mauer is one of the few people not worried that his swing will be affected. “I don’t think one night will affect your swing for the rest of the season,” Mauer said. “It might be a little tiring, but as far as mechanically, I don’t think so.” Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz is not worried about messing up his swing either. “I hear people say that,” Cruz said. “It’s just like taking BP for me. I always do better the second half [of the season]. I don’t know why. I work a lot harder, trying to keep myself strong until the end of the season. I don’t worry about it.” Cruz’s teammate Josh Hamilton finished second last year and Cruz thinks he has a shot this year. “I think I have a chance,” Cruz said, “I don’t expect to hit 20 homers like Josh.” Pena was added to the All-Star roster as a late replacement for Dustin Pedroia and was the final person added to the MLB Betting Home Run Derby. He is excited to be a part of it. “It’s just a cool thing,” Pena aid. “That’s the best way to describe it. It would be so cool.” Our Pick to win the HR derby is: Adrian Gonzalez!
Monday, 8:00 pm Eastern – ESPN
RYAN HOWARD +275
ADRIAN GONZALEZ +500
JOE MAUER +850
PRINCE FIELDER +350
NELSON CRUZ +800
BRANDON INGE +1000
CARLOS PENA +600 .
Tags: adrian gonzalez, albert pujols, All-Star game, allstar, baseball, betting, mlb, ryan howard
MLB Betting Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Dodgers - 150 , Total 8.5 Over – 120 Two of the top teams in the National League begin a weekend series in Milwaukee as the Brewers host the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers send their ace, Chad Billingsley on Friday while the Brewers counter with Braden Looper. Billingsley will be going for his 10th win of the season on Friday. He is 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA this season while Looper is 7-4 with a 4.78 ERA. SBG Global reports that early MLB Betting has the public taking Dodgers on the Road. Billingsley hasn’t gotten a win since June 14th but not all of that is his fault. He had a sure win get away in his last start when Jonathan Broxton blew the save. He is 2-0 in his career against the Brewers. Looper is coming off a solid outing against the Cubs where he allowed just two run on six hits in six innings. He is 4-1 at home this season with a 4.03 ERA in ten starts. The Brewers expect to get Corey Hart back on Friday. He injured his foot on Tuesday but hopes to be back in the lineup on Friday. He is hitting .256 this season with nine home runs and 35 RBIs. “We have two guys who have basically carried us,” Hart said about All-Stars Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, “and now Casey [McGehee] is coming on strong. We’re right in the hunt, [even though] a bunch of guys aren’t doing what they want to do. It could be a lot worse. We’re all going to get better offensively. You figure it’s got to turn around. We’ll put up numbers when we get that consistency going.” Here are the MLB Betting stats for Friday’s game. The Dodgers are 5-0 in their last five series openers. The Dodgers are 4-1 in their last 5 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Dodgers are 35-17 in the last 52 meetings against Milwaukee. The Brewers are 16-7 in their last 23 series openers. The Brewers are 6-13 in their last 19 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Brewers are 7-3 in Looper’s last 10 home starts. SBG Global Current Line: Dodgers - 133 , Total 8.5 Over – 120 The Over is 6-1 in the Dodgers last 7 road games. The Under is 5-1 in the Brewers last 6 home games vs. a right-handed starter. The Under is 8-2 in the Brewers last 10 vs. the National League West. The Over is 4-1 in Looper’s last 5 starts overall. The Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings between the two teams. Pick: Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers
Friday, 8:05 pm Eastern
Tags: baseball, baseball pick, betting, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, mlb, mlb pick, sports
MLB Betting Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Yankees - 135 , Total 9.5 Under – 120 A. J. Burnett will try to keep his hot streak going as the New York Yankees visit the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. Burnett is 7-4 on the season with a 3.74 ERA and he has been excellent of late. Last Friday he gave up just two runs in seven innings against Toronto while striking out seven. He has allowed just three earned runs in his last four starts overall. SBG Global reports that early MLB Betting has the public taking Yankees on the Road. The Twins counter with Glen Perkins on Wednesday. He is 4-4 with a 4.38 ERA this season. He pitched well in his last start against Kansas City, allowing just one run in seven innings. He has had very little success in his career against the Yankees going 1-3 with a 7.71 ERA in four starts. The Twins have played very well at home this season and the Yankees know it will not be easy. “Minnesota’s very tough in that building, and they’ve been playing well, too.” Manager Joe Giradi said, “We know these are two tough series, but we’ll worry about Minnesota first and then move on.” New York is trying to cap off a successful first half of the season. “We just want to continue to play well,” said Derek Jeter, “We’re doing a lot of good things around here, and that’s what you want to continue until the All-Star break. We’ve got six more games at Minnesota and Anaheim, and they both play us tough. We want to just continue this.” Here are the MLB Betting stats for Wednesday’s game. The Yankees are 6-0 in their last 6 road games vs. a left-handed starter. The Yankees are 19-7 in their last 26 vs. the American League Central. The Yankees are 5-0 in Burnett’s last 5 starts as a favorite. The Yankees are 5-2 in Burnett’s last 7 starts overall. SBG Global Current Line: Yankees - 135 , Total 9.5 Under – 120 The Twins are 11-4 in their last 15 home games vs. a right-handed starter. The Twins are 15-36 in their last 51 vs. the American League East. The Under is 9-4-1 in the Yankees last 14 road games. The Under is 4-0-1 in Burnett’s last 5 road starts. The Under is 5-2 in the Twins last 7 home games. The Under is 5-0 in Perkins’ last 5 starts as a home underdog. The Under is 9-4 in Perkins’ last 13 starts overall. Pick: Twins
New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins
Wednesday, 8:10 pm Eastern
Tags: aj burnet, baseball, Minnesota Twins, mlb, New York Yankees, sports
It is only July but a big series in the National League Central gets underway on Tuesday as the Milwaukee Brewers host the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers are not playing well, having lost four of their last five and they believe this is a must-win series against the Cardinals. “It’s crucial,” Ryan Braun said, “We don’t want to dig ourselves too big of a hole. It’s always important to have some momentum going into the second half to show everybody that we’re for real and that we can make a move and improve our ballclub. We need to be headed in the right direction and not the wrong direction in order to do that.” SBG Global reports that early MLB Betting has the public taking Brewers at Home. Milwaukee has won four of the six games against St. Louis this season but they are facing a St. Louis Cardinals team that has won four of their last five and has superstar Albert Pujols who is red-hot. Pujols leads the league with 31 home runs and 82 RBIs. This is a key week before the All-Star break for both teams as after this series the Brewers host the Dodgers while the Cardinals visit the Cubs. Milwaukee sends Yovani Gallardo to the mound on Tuesday. He is 8-5 with a 2.75 ERA this season. He gave up just one run and five hits in seven innings in his last start against the Mets but got no run support in a 1-0 loss. Gallardo has had very little run support this season. He is pitching great though and has a 1.70 ERA in his last eight starts. St. Louis goes with Adam Wainwright on Tuesday. He is 8-5 with a 3.32 ERA. He allowed just one run and six hits in his last outing against San Francisco. He is 1-1 against Milwaukee this year but has allowed only two runs and seven hits in those 15 innings. Here are the MLB Betting stats for Tuesday’s game. The Cardinals are 4-1 in their last 5 overall. The Cardinals are 8-3 in their last 11 road games vs. a right-handed starter. The Cardinals are 7-1 in Wainwright’s last 8 road starts. The Cardinals are 3-11 in the last 14 meetings between the two teams. SBG Global Current Line: Brewers - 146 , Total 7.5 Over – 115 The Brewers are 5-12 in their last 17 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Brewers are 1-4 in their last 5 overall. The Brewers are 5-2 in Gallardo’s last 7 home starts. The Under is 6-2-1 in the Cardinals last 9 games as a road underdog. The Over is 11-1-1 in Wainwright’s last 13 road starts. The Over is 5-2 in the Brewers last 7 overall. The Under is 4-1 in Gallardo’s last 5 home starts.
Tags: baseball, betting, gambling, Milwaukee Brewers, mlb, sports, St. Louis Cardinals
(Record: 0-1, -1.00) This weekend is the 4th of July weekend and the sporting world has plenty of fireworks planned for the holiday. The game of the week is no different as it will focus on the FOX Saturday game of the week. This Saturday the New York Mets travel to Philadelphia to battle the Phillies and it will be aired on Fox. The Mets have been hampered by injuries all season and have lost the majority of the starting lineup at one point or another. The amazing thing is even with all of these injuries the Mets are just two games behind the Phillies in the east. The Phillies have had problems pitching and winning at home. They are one of the league’s best road teams and need to put a run together if they want to defend their title in the east. On Saturday the Mets send Fernando Nieve to the Hill to face the Phillies. Nieve had been a nice surprise for the Mets this year up to his last start against the Brewers when he failed to make it to the fourth inning. He allowed the more runs in that game then he allowed all year in a Mets uniform. The only time that he has faced the Phillies has been in a relief appearances. The Phillies counter with crafty veteran Jamie Moyer. Moyer is 6-6 on the year and has proved that he is hittable. He got a win in his last start against the Blue Jays but got hit hard early. He rebounded with a few solid innings and got some help from his offense. This year he has not done well against the Mets giving up a run per inning pitched and posting an ERA over nine. The Mets have a chance to take the division lead if they play well enough in this series and Philly has proved that they do not play well at home. If there is a game in the series where the Mets have the edge in pitching it’s this one. Nieve will have plenty of stamina after only going three innings in his last game and the Mets have Moyer’s number. The Mets will get a solid performance by Nieve and jump on Moyer early to provide some run support. ON Saturday the Mets take down the Phillies. Game of the Week Pick: New York Mets Projected Final: Mets 7 Phillies 4
Tags: baseball, mlb, New York Mets, ny mets, Philadelphia Phillies, pick, sports
This week the Game of the Week pick will focus on Sunday night baseball on ESPN. ESPN will feature the subway series as the New York Yankees take on the New York Mets. This is a rematch of the series when the Yankees blasted Mets ace Johan Santana in a 15-0 blowout win. The Yankees took two out of three in that series but this series has a change of venue as the Yankees will be playing in Citi Field. The Yankees send troubled starter Chien-Ming Wang to the hill for the Sunday finale of the series. Wang started the season on a bad note and expectations of another 19 win season were crushed early. It got so bad that Yankee skipper Joe Giradi gave him an ultimatum to pitch well or lose his role as a starter. Since that demand he has put together two very good games against the Nationals and the Braves and looks to be regaining some of the form he had last year. His sinker is becoming effective again and he is not allowing the big inning. The Mets counter with Livan Hernandez on Sunday night. Hernandez has been a delightful surprise for the Mets and has performed valiantly this year. Hernandez has filled in and become a valuable starter after injuries have ripped through the rotation. Hernandez comes into this game after a great pitching performance against the Cardinals. His assignment will not get any easier this week against the Yankees. The subway series has always been entertaining and the Mets hold an 8-7 edge. The Mets playing at home should certainly help them in this game, as of this writing they are 22-14 this year. The lineup has been decimated by injuries but the replacements have been playing with energy and scoring runs. The Yankees bats have started to warm up in the last series against Atlanta otherwise they have been very cold. Wang will have troubles in this game and expect him to be pulled early as the Yankees try to fill voids to play with the NL rule book. Wang has never been the same after injuring his foot. The loss of the DH will be counterproductive for the Yankees lineup. Livan Hernandez knows how to pitch in big games against opponents on a big stage. The Mets should be listed as dogs in this game, take the home town Mets to get the win on Sunday night on ESPN! Game of the Week Pick: New York Mets
Tags: baseball, espn, mlb, pick, sports
Welcome to the Father’s Day rants! A hearty Happy Father’s Day to all Dads’ out there who deserve to have a great day! This edition of the rants will cover the incredible shrinking A-Rod, and the best father/son athletes of all time! This weekend the Yankees announced that A-Rod was getting a “rest” for a couple of games this week. It was announced that he was suffering from “fatigue”. I think it’s time to start calling this “illness” what it really is, Roid Hangover. Alex Rodriquez is a gifted athlete and he will be great again but for now he is struggling just like other athletes have when they stop taking steroids. He was just hitting .145 in June and plenty of those outs were infield outs. Just a look at Rodriquez now and from a couple of years ago and you can physically see a difference. He will be back and should put up some good numbers once he gets over this “fatigue”. In honor of father’s day I wanted to list my top three pair of father and son athletes to play in professional sports. 3) Muhammad Ali/Laila Ali—the first father/son combo is actually father/daughter but still one of the best. Muhammad Ali is simply “the greatest”. His daughter followed in his footsteps. She is 24-0 and 21 of those are via the knockout! 2) Dale Earnhardt/Dale Earnhardt Jr.—heading into the world of NASCAR the #2 father/son combo on the list is the Earnhardt’s. Dale was a pioneer in the sport and will always be remembered as one of the best. Jr. has had a tougher go of it but has still presented himself as a force in the sport. In the Sprint Cup he has 18 wins and 87 top 5 finishes. 1) Bobby Bonds/Barry Bonds—Love them or hate them this spot belongs to the Bonds family. Bobby was a multiple Gold Glover and three time all-star. Barry currently holds the home run record* but has numerous MVP’s and arguably on e of the best players to ever play the game! Happy Father’s Day everyone!
Tags: A-Rod, Alex Rodriquez, ARod, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Father / Son Athletes, Father and son athlete combinations, Father’s Day, Gold Glove, Happy Fathers Day, Laila Ali, Major League Baseball, mlb, Muhammad Ali, MVP, nascar, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Sprint Cup, steroids
