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07/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After winning 10 of his first 15 starts of the season, New York Mets right-hander Mike Pelfrey has fallen on hard times. Pelfrey will try to bounce back when he takes the mound Monday in the opener of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks from Chase Field.
Pelfrey was 10-2 with a 2.71 earned run average after a win over the Minnesota Twins on June 25, but is just 0-2 with a less desirable 10.13 ERA over his past three starts. He has dropped back-to-back appearances and previously took the mound in last Saturday's 4-0 setback versus Atlanta, allowing all four runs and 12 hits in only four innings. He hasn't been able to pitch past the fifth inning in each of his previous three outings.
The right-hander, who is 4-2 on the road this season and was slated to pitch Saturday before neck stiffness pushed his start back, will face Arizona for the sixth time in his career. He is 0-4 with a 5.22 ERA over the first five appearances in this series, and went 0-2 in two starts a year ago.
New York hopes Pelfrey will be at full strength when it resume an 11-game road trip in the desert. The Mets salvaged the finale of a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants over the weekend with Sunday's 4-3 victory in 10 innings at AT&T Park. Ike Davis put the visitors ahead for good with an RBI double in the 10th inning that plated Jason Bay, who reached on a single.
Davis had three hits and two RBI, while Bay also ended with a trio of hits for the Mets, who won for just the second time in eight games. David Wright homered for the 15th time in a winning effort and starter Johan Santana fired eight innings of one-run ball for the no-decision. Closer Francisco Rodriguez blew the save in the ninth, but came back for the win in the 10th.
"This locker room would have been a lot different right now [if we had lost]," right fielder Jeff Francoeur said on the team's website.
The Mets hope to carry the momentum over into this series with Arizona and will visit the Los Angeles Dodgers for four games afterwards. In injury news for the Mets, second baseman Luis Castillo (heel/foot) is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list Monday, while shortstop Jose Reyes (oblique) is listed as probable. Wright is also probable with a balky knee.
Arizona has dropped four in a row and was swept in three games by the NL West- leading San Diego Padres over the weekend. In Sunday's 6-4 setback in the series finale, Edwin Jackson was dealt the loss for allowing four runs and nine hits in six innings with seven K's and four walks.
Kelly Johnson and Justin Upton both homered and finished with two RBI for the Diamondbacks, who have lost 10 of their last 12 games. Upton finished with a team-best three hits and is riding a modest five-game hitting streak. He has hit safely in 20 of his last 28 contests, including 11 multi-hit games.
"We battled to the end and that's all you can ask for," said Upton, who had an RBI double in the ninth. "Heath Bell is an All-Star for a reason."
Bell then got D'Backs catcher Miguel Montero to ground out to end the game.
The Diamondbacks will also host NL West-rival San Francisco for four games after this set with New York.
Ian Kennedy has put together back-to-back wins just once this season and hopes to do it again when he toes the rubber Monday for the D'Backs. Kennedy was 0-5 with a 5.29 earned run average in eight starts before ending the slide in a 5-4 win over Florida on July 10. He allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings, struck out five and walked two batters to improve to 4-7 in 18 starts.
The right-hander, who is 2-2 in eight home starts this season, has never faced the Mets in his career.
New York and Arizona are meeting for the first time since the Diamondbacks won five of seven meetings a year ago.
<< Jimenez goes for win No. 16 in south Florida
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Rockies and Marlins have struggled on offense in
the second half. Given Tuesday's pitching matchup, neither team is likely to
break out at the plate on Monday night.
National League All-Star starter Ubaldo Ji
<< Phillies aiming to get on track against first-place Cardinals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have handled the St. Louis
Cardinals pretty conveniently the past few years. That may change when the
struggling Phils pay a visit to Busch Stadium Monday for the first of four
consecutive matchups w
<< Cubs hope to stay hot versus Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The confidence level in the Windy City has to be high after
how easily the Chicago Cubs handled the two-time defending National League
champion Philadelphia Phillies this weekend at Wrigley Field.
Chicago's chances of keep
<< Oosthuizen soars to 15th in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen parlayed his first major
championship victory into a huge jump in the world rankings.
Oosthuizen cruised to a seven-stroke win at the British Open this past weekend
and jumped 39 places f
Mitchell and Krystkowiak join Avery Johnson in Jersey >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former NBA head coaches Sam Mitchell
and Larry Krystkowiak have been named assistants for Avery Johnson with the
New Jersey Nets.
John Loyer, Popeye Jones and Tom Barrise were also named to Johnso
Breakers claim third successive win >>
Cambridge, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Breakers earned their third
straight win on Sunday as they downed the Washington Freedom, 2-1, at Harvard
Stadium.
The Freedom took the lead just two minutes into the game through N
Four finalists return to Buck Buchanan Award Watch List >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The race for the 2010 Buck Buchanan Award,
sponsored by Fathead.com, kicked off Monday with The Sportsbook Betting Lines's
announcement that four finalists from last season are part of a stellar 20-
player Watch List f
Valero returns to Spain with Villarreal >>
Villarreal, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Bromwich Albion have cut their
losses on Borja Valero after allowing the midfielder to return to Spain with
Villarreal.
Valero, 25, joined the Baggies from Mallorca for a club record $7 mill
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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