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Struggling Braves turn to Lowe in finale with PiratesBaseball Betting Lines09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates sure have been enjoying their role of spoiler in this series and are now in position to sweep the Atlanta Braves for the first time in over 16 years. To do that they will have to solve Derek Lowe, who has won all nine of his career starts versus Pittsburgh and will try to get Atlanta back on track in the finale of a three-game set this evening at PNC Park. The Braves' offense has plated just 12 runs over their last six games, a span in which they have lost five times, and failed to cross the plate in last night's 5-0 setback. Atlanta's third loss in a row dropped the club a half- game behind Philadelphia for first place in the National League East, a spot it had held solo since May 31. "It happens," Braves manager Bobby Cox said on Atlanta's website after the loss. "You can't do anything about it. You just got to worry about each game as they come along." Hopefully for Atlanta, Lowe's past success versus the Pirates carries over tonight as his club aims to avoid its first sweep in this set since April 29- May 1, 1994. Lowe has a 2.76 career earned run average in his nine starts versus Pittsburgh and beat the franchise on May 28 with seven innings of one- run ball. The 37-year-old righty hasn't pitched since Aug. 29, though, due to lingering soreness in his pitching elbow, but he did turn in a successful bullpen session on Monday. "Anytime you miss a start and have an MRI, it's not what you want," said Lowe on Atlanta's website. "It reaffirms that what we did was the right way to go." Lowe lasted just three innings in his last start, giving up five runs, six hits and three walks. He is 11-12 with a 4.53 ERA this year. While Lowe has never lost to the Pirates, teammate Tim Hudson's recent run of good pitching versus the club did not carry over on Tuesday. Hudson was tagged for four runs over 6 1/3 innings to suffer the loss as he allowed an earned run against Pittsburgh for the first time since Aug. 23, 2006. All five runs came in the seventh inning for the Pirates, as Delwyn Young hit a two-run homer and Ronny Cedeno added a triple that brought home a pair of runs. That offensive outburst backed James McDonald, who got the win after tossing seven scoreless innings. "Tim Hudson is a great competitor, and he's a great pitcher," said Pittsburgh's Pedro Alvarez, who also drove in a run. We just always try to grind it out and play until the end." Pirates rookie Neil Walker added a double in the game to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. The Pirates have beaten the Braves just three times in eight meetings this year and came into this set having lost eight of their last 11 to Atlanta. Zach Duke will try to pitch Pittsburgh to the elusive sweep this evening and is 2-0 over his last three starts, but has allowed four runs in each of his last two. The 27-year-old lasted just five innings in a victory over the Nationals on Friday, getting charged with five hits and three walks while improving to 7-12 with a 5.24 ERA on the season. Duke gave up just one unearned run versus the Braves at home on May 23, getting a no-decision, but the southpaw was then lit up for seven runs and 12 hits five days later in a setback at Atlanta. He fell to 2-4 with a 4.58 ERA in his career versus the Braves.
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Tigers battle Bulldogs in SEC action >>
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC action begins on Thursday in Starkville as the Mississippi State Bulldogs welcome the 21st-ranked Auburn Tigers to town. Auburn opened its season last weekend with a 52-26 victory over Arkansas State.
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College Football Betting Tips From a ProWhile the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly. Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules. The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers. What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by. These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end. College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well. Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football. Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play. Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration. I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key. Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season. It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage. As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital. Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. MySportsbook features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse betting . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees! To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs. |
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