Giants target first place as they continue road trip in Arizona
Baseball Betting Lines
09/06/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With first place in the National League's West Division now
within their grasp, the San Francisco Giants continue a critical road trip
today with the first of three straight meetings with the Arizona Diamondbacks
from Chase Field.
San Francisco has taken advantage of San Diego's recent tailspin and closed
within a single game of the Padres' lead atop the division with Sunday's 3-0
victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The win was the Giants' fourth in
their last five contests, while the Padres have lost 10 straight games
following a 4-2 setback to Colorado yesterday.
The Giants used a stellar pitching performance from Jonathan Sanchez (10-8) to
top the Dodgers last night, with the left-hander yielding a mere three hits
and striking out nine batters over seven shutout innings.
"I was getting ahead on every hitter," Sanchez said. "When they take the first
pitch, I took advantage of it and threw strikes. I'm working on my mechanics
and feel I can go deep in the game."
Juan Uribe gave Sanchez some breathing room by belting a two-run homer in the
seventh inning to give the Giants a 3-0 advantage, one day after the infielder
came through with a go-ahead two-run shot in the ninth that lifted San
Francisco to a 5-4 triumph over the Dodgers.
The Giants will attempt to continue their winning ways when they head to
Phoenix to take on the last-place Diamondbacks. San Francisco swept a four-
game series from Arizona in its last visit to Chase Field and has prevailed in
eight of 12 matchups between the NL West foes this season.
Madison Bumgarner helped San Francisco record that above-mentioned sweep with
a solid showing against the Diamondbacks on July 24, and will be aiming to
duplicate that effort when he takes the mound for today's opener. In his first
career start versus Arizona, the rookie surrendered just two runs and struck
out seven over seven sharp innings.
Bumgarner has struggled since then, however, having gone 1-2 with a 5.17
earned run average in six subsequent starts. The highly-regarded lefty did
turn in a good game this past Tuesday, though, holding Colorado to a run on
five hits through six innings in a no-decision.
The 21-year-old's best work this season has come on the road, as Bumgarner is
5-2 with a 3.76 ERA in seven assignments at visiting parks.
He'll be taking on an Arizona squad that has won seven of its last 10 games
but will be trying to bounce back from back-to-back home losses to Houston
over the weekend. Both of those defeats were by a single run, including
Sunday's 3-2 setback in which the Diamondbacks couldn't overcome an early
three-run deficit.
Hunter Pence smacked a three-run homer off Arizona starter Rodrigo Lopez in
the first inning for Houston's only runs of the day. The blast came after
Michael Bourn started the game with a walk and Jeff Keppinger followed with a
single to put two runners aboard.
Lopez (5-13) allowed just four more hits over the remainder of his six-inning
stint, but was still saddled with his sixth consecutive losing decision.
"I had a hard time adjusting from the stretch, especially with a speedy guy
(Bourn) on first base," said Lopez about his rough beginning. "It caused me to
throw pitches up in the zone. After that I was able to get the ball down and
get my game going the way I wanted it to."
The Diamondbacks would pull within a run on solo homers by Kelly Johnson and
John Hester, but went scoreless over the game's final five innings.
Arizona hopes to provide a little more support for Ian Kennedy today in the
right-hander's 28th start of the season. The former New York Yankees prospect
hasn't needed much help lately, though, as he's 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA over his
last four outings and pitched into the seventh inning in three of those tests.
Kennedy enters today's clash off back-to-back victories over the slumping
Padres, including an August 26 masterpiece in San Diego in which he permitted
just one hit and fanned a career-best 12 batters in seven innings. In a
rematch at Chase Field this past Tuesday, the offseason pickup was touched for
three runs in seven frames to help the D-Backs to a 7-4 win.
The 25-year-old is 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA in three previous encounters with San
Francisco this season, with the loss coming in a head-to-head battle with
Bumgarner on July 24. The Giants scored four times off Kennedy in his 6 2/3
innings of work that night.
<< Rockies hope to extend charge as they battle Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Don't look now, but the Colorado Rockies may about to be
putting together one of those strong September runs that has propelled them
into the postseason in years past.
After climbing back into the National League West rac
<< Villanova loses starting defensive end
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending FCS national champion Villanova
has lost sophomore Marlon Johnson, its only returning starter on the defensive
line, to a season-ending ACL injury.
Johnson, a defensive end, suffered the injury d
<< Phillies bring up Robertson, Worley to start Monday
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies bolstered their
bullpen Monday with two additions, bringing up lefties Nate Robertson and Mike
Zagurski, and recalling Vance Worley from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start
Monday
<< Rays, Red Sox start series at Fenway
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays can deal the final blow to the Boston
Red Sox' playoff hopes this week, as the American League East rivals open a
three-game set at Fenway Park.
The Rays come into tonight's opener trailing the New York
<< Tigers hope to play spoiler against White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers' postseason chances have probably gone
by the wayside. However, they will get a chance to play spoiler this week and
open a four-game series with the playoff-hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica
Park.
Latos tries to end Padres 10-game slide in meeting with Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Mat Latos' quick emergence into a frontline pitcher is a
big reason why the San Diego Padres have stood atop the National League West
for the majority of the 2010 campaign. With his team mired in by far their
worst stretch o
Astros try to remain hot in Chicago >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recently red-hot lefty Wandy Rodriguez and his similarly
streaking Houston teammates try to make it three straight wins when the Astros
head to Wrigley Field today for the first of three consecutive games with the
host Chicag
Division rivals collide as Mariners visit A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-year lefty Brett Anderson can pitch the Oakland
Athletics a game closer to .500 and keep them an outside contender in the
American League playoff race today, when the team hosts the Seattle Mariners
for the first of th
Cardinals to begin critical road trip with clash vs. Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a much-needed series win, the playoff-hopeful
St. Louis Cardinals know they still have a lot of work to do.
St. Louis continues that uphill battle this afternoon with the opener of a
three-game series at Miller
Santana scratched from Tuesday start >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets ace Johan Santana will miss
his next scheduled start Tuesday versus Washington with a strained pectoral
muscle.
Santana was forced to leave his last assignment against the Braves Thurs
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Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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