Dodgers take losing streak into Houston
Baseball Betting Lines
09/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to avoid a season-high sixth consecutive loss this evening when they open a four-game series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The Dodgers' playoff chances took a big hit this week, as they dropped two of three at home to the San Francisco Giants, then lost all three games of their series to the National League West-leading San Diego Padres, falling 4-0 on Wednesday to drop 11 games back of the division leaders.
Matt Kemp doubled for the Dodgers, who have dropped seven of eight to fall two games below .500 (69-71). Chad Billingsley (11-9) surrendered four runs, six hits and five walks in just 5 1/3 frames to take the loss.
"(Billingsley) certainly deserved a better fate, but we didn't score any runs," said Los Angeles manager Joe Torre.
Tonight, the Dodgers will turn to lefty Ted Lilly, who is 8-9 on the season with a 3.55 earned run average. Lilly did not get a decision on Saturday against the Giants, as he allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings of his team's 5-4 loss.
Since being acquired from the Cubs, Lilly has gone 5-1 with a 3.18 ERA over seven starts.
Lilly has dominated the Astros over the course of his career, going 7-1 against them with a 2.19 ERA in 12 starts.
Lilly will be opposed by righty Bud Norris, who is winless in his last three starts. Norris did not get a decision on Saturday in Arizona, but was hit hard, as he surrendered five runs and eight hits with three walks in just 4 2/3 innings of his team's 6-5 triumph. He is 6-8 on the year with a 5.34 ERA.
Norris lost to the Dodgers the only other time he faced them, allowing six runs in 4 1/3 frames back on May 18.
Houston comes into tonight's tilt red-hot after taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs. On Wednesday, Brett Myers struck out eight in seven shutout innings to continue his dominance of the Cubs and lead the Astros to a 4-0 win.
Myers (11-7) allowed just three hits and walked one, improving to 3-0 in four starts against Chicago this season. He has given up only four earned runs in those outings (1.21 ERA) and struck out 34 in 29 2/3 innings.
Additionally, Myers extended his franchise record by pitching at least six innings for the 29th consecutive start.
Houston got a home run from Hunter Pence and run-scoring hits out of Humberto Quintero and Chris Johnson to win for the fourth time in five games and for the eighth time in its last 10 tries.
"Every time he goes out there, as you've seen, he's given us six innings or more every outing," Pence said of Myers. "Just gives you a great chance to win. He competes, he knows what he's doing out there. It's fun to play behind him."
The Dodgers swept a two-game series from the Astros back in May.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers try to play spoiler this afternoon and go for a series win when they wrap up a four-game set against the playoff hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. The White Sox won the first seven gam
<< Rangers, Blue Jays conclude set in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colby Lewis tries to put the breaks on a personal seven-
game losing streak this evening when the Texas Rangers conclude a four-game
series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Lewis hasn't won since Jul
<< Cardinals start series in Atlanta
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When St. Louis and Atlanta last met in April, the Cardinals
ran away with a four-game sweep at Busch Stadium. They will attempt to do that
again in the first of four consecutive matchups tonight from Turner Field.
The Card
<< Rockies go for sweep of Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Colorado Rockies look to sweep a four-game set
from the Cincinnati Reds when the two teams collide tonight in the series
finale from Coors Field.
Colorado has won six straight overall and recorded a 9-2 victory
<< NL West supremacy on line in San Diego
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First place in the National League West will be on the line
as the top two teams in the division, San Francisco and San Diego, kick off an
important four-game series tonight at Petco Park.
The Padres currently lead the div
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Basketball Association has opened a new office in Moscow, as announced by deputy commissioner and COO Adam Silver on Thursday. Moscow joins the ever-expanding international umbrella ho
NCAA steps up and cracks down >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The old adage "better late than never" does
not always ring true. However, after years of turning a blind eye to the seedy
practices at play in college sports, the NCAA has recently gone on a crusade
for whic
Dolphins cut C Grove; sign G Procter >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins released veteran center Jake
Grove three days before the start of the 2010 regular season.
Grove, 30, missed time in the preseason due to a shoulder injury and lost his
starting spot to Joe
White Sox welcome back Putz from DL >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox activated reliever J.J.
Putz off the 15-day disabled list on Thursday.
Putz left an August 24 game against Baltimore after throwing three pitches and
was diagnosed with right knee pat
Report: Toronto police help in Clemens case >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto police have reportedly helped the FBI
and United States prosecutors in the case against Roger Clemens.
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto police obtained
medical informati
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.