08/26/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Halladay is putting together a Cy Young Award-worthy season, but you wouldn't know it if you only saw him pitch against the Rays. The Toronto Blue Jays ace will try for his first win in four starts against Tampa Bay this year when the two clubs begin a three-game set tonight at Tropicana Field.
The 31-year-old Halladay is 4-2 over his last six outings with a 1.97 earned run average. He defeated the New York Yankees in his most recent start, holding them to three runs on five hits over seven innings with nine strikeouts.
It was Halladay's 15th win of the season and he is third in the American League in ERA (2.68) and strikeouts (168), while his eight complete games are tied with CC Sabathia for the most in the majors.
Yet, the right-hander is 0-3 with a 5.32 ERA in three starts versus the Rays this year. Lifetime against Tampa Bay, Halladay is 9-7 with four complete games and a 3.87 ERA in 26 games, 23 of those starts.
Halladay may have an easier time with Tampa Bay tonight, as the two Rays players who have hurt him the most are currently on the disabled list. Carl Crawford is hitting 5-for-11 (.455) against him this year, but is out after having surgery on his right middle finger, while Evan Longoria, on the DL due to a broken right wrist, has driven in eight runs off Halladay in 2008.
The Rays have been winning without two of their key members, going 11-4 over their last 15 games. Tampa Bay failed to post a three-game sweep of the White Sox over the weekend, losing Sunday's finale, 6-5, in extra-innings.
Rocco Baldelli homered in the 10-inning loss for the Rays, who lead the Red Sox by 4 1/2 games in the AL East. Tampa Bay starts a nine-game homestand with tonight's set and owns the best home mark in the AL at 47-18, having won eight of its last 10 as the host.
Taking the hill for the Rays tonight is James Shields, who is 11-7 with a 3.68 ERA this year. Shields has won his last two decisions, defeating the Angels on Tuesday behind eight innings of two-run ball while fanning seven. He hasn't lost since July 28 at Toronto, where he allowed three runs over 7 1/3 innings.
The 26-year-old righty, who has an 8-1 record and 2.21 ERA in 14 home starts this year, is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA in six career starts versus the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays have lost three of their last five and missed a chance to gain ground in the AL wild card race. Toronto lost two of three to Boston, dropping Sunday's rubber match by a 6-5 margin in 11 innings while falling eight games back of Boston.
A.J. Burnett had his six-start winning streak come to an end, as he took a no- decision. Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay homered for Toronto, which has dropped three of five. Wells homered twice on Saturday as well, giving him three homers, six hits and six RBI in his last two games.
Wells, though, is just 2-for-12 (.167) with a homer and two RBI in his career against Shields.
Tampa Bay has won nine of 12 versus Toronto this year, winning two of three at home in mid-July. The Rays also swept a three-game set in Orlando from April 22-24.
<< Marlins resume road trip against battered Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins will resume a nine-game road trip this
evening with the first of three straight meetings with the National League
East-rival Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
The Marlins are 3-3 so far on the trek a
<< Cubs try to overpower Pirates once again
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs try to continue their season-long mastery
of the Pittsburgh Pirates this evening, when the National League Central
rivals resume their three-game series at PNC Park.
Chicago, which leads the major
<< Mets put NL East lead on line in Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phillies trailed the Mets by seven games in mid-
September of last season before rallying to capture the National League East
title. Needless to say, they are trying to keep it closer this year.
Trailing th
<< Atlanta Falcons 2008 Season Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot, Atlanta Falcons
owner Arthur Blank knows a thing or two about remodeling jobs. That's a good
thing, since his team is currently in need of a makeover even Ty Pennington
and his crew
Dodgers hoping to get back on track at Nationals' expense >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers were shown no mercy in the City of
Brotherly Love to start their current road trip. The club will try to reverse
its misfortunes when it visits the nation's capital tonight for the first of
three s
Cards try to shuffle woes vs. Brewers at Busch >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Cardinals are unable to capture the National League
wild card, their inability to defeat the Brewers this season may be to blame.
St. Louis will try to halt a six-game losing streak to Milwaukee tonight in
the
Former Blazer Duckworth dies >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin
Duckworth died Monday. He was 44.
A member of the Trail Blazers from 1986-93, the 7-footer also played for San
Antonio, Washington, Milwaukee and the Los Angele
Webb shoots for 20th win as Diamondbacks resume set with Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Webb tries to become the National League's first
20-game winner since 2005 this evening when the Arizona Diamondbacks play the
second test of their three-game series with the San Diego Padres at Petco
Park.
Webb,
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Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite. Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight. With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites. As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).
Midwest
#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler
The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April. Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT. After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games. Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season. As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers. Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS). Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field. With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.
#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV
As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year. If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season. As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well. This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons. Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late. There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games. It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.
East
#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown
“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season. Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU. They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games. With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field. Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense. Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc. The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range. Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.
#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC
The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country. Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times. Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter. UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen. UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS. An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games. This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS. USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types. An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough. USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS. They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12. When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.
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