Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros may not have provided Roy Oswalt much run support over the course of this season, but the team has had little trouble generating offense in its battles with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Houston seeks to remain unbeaten against the road-challenged Pirates in 2010 when these two National League Central foes wrap up a three-game series this afternoon at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros have taken the first two tests of this set and moved to 5-0 versus Pittsburgh this season with last night's 6-3 victory. Houston used a rare power display to prevail on Wednesday, with the club slugging a season-high four home runs for the game.
Carlos Lee had a two-run homer and Jeff Keppinger, Lance Berkman and Hunter Pence each delivered solo blasts for Houston, which has amassed a total of 31 runs in its five victories over the Pirates this year.
"It's nice to see our 2-3-4-5 hitters hit those home runs," Astros manager Brad Mills said afterward.
Three of those long balls came off of Pirates starter Daniel McCutchen (1-4), who was reached for four runs in five innings of work.
"He battled but made mistakes that hurt," said Pirates manager John Russell of McCutchen.
Oswalt hopes his teammates can remain swinging hot bats when he takes the ball for today's finale. The Astros have averaged a modest 2.76 runs per game over the ace pitcher's 17 starts, which helps explain the unwanted 5-10 season record Oswalt carries into this matchup. In his last three mound trips, Houston has managed a paltry two runs combined.
The three-time All-Star pitched extremely well this past Friday in San Diego, holding the NL West-leading Padres to three hits and striking out seven over seven shutout innings, but left with the contest still scoreless. Oswalt took a loss in each of his two previous starts and will be searching for his first win since June 16.
The 32-year-old did defeat the Pirates in Pittsburgh back on April 23 by allowing three runs -- two earned -- over seven effective innings and sports a strong 14-7 record with a 2.62 earned run average in 27 career games (26 starts) against the Bucs. Oswalt hasn't fared well at home this season, however, having compiled a poor 1-8 mark with a 3.98 ERA in 10 assignments held at Minute Maid Park.
Houston will be counting on another extended outing from Oswalt, with Brian Moehler forced to leave Wednesday's test after only three shutout innings due to a strained right groin. Casey Daigle (1-1) was credited with the win after recording two scoreless frames in relief.
Wednesday's setback was the 20th in the past 22 road games for Pittsburgh and dropped the team to an awful 11-34 as the visitor this season, the second- worst away mark in the majors. The Pirates have also lost in 13 of their past 16 meetings with the Astros in Houston, as well as eight of the last nine overall encounters between the divisional rivals.
Pittsburgh will turn to Ross Ohlendorf today in an attempt to avoid a sweep, while the big right-hander tries to build off his best effort of the season.
Against Philadelphia this past Friday, Ohlendorf yielded five hits and struck out eight batters over seven shutout innings to notch a long-awaited first win of 2010. The 27-year-old also pitched well in a no-decision five days earlier, limiting Oakland to two unearned runs and just two hits through six frames on June 27.
Prior to those two starts, Ohlendorf had gone 0-6 with a 5.43 over his first 10 appearances of the year.
The Princeton product, an 11-game winner for the Bucs last season, has historically struggled when facing the Astros. Ohlendorf has lost all five of his career starts against Houston and pitched to a lackluster 7.57 ERA in seven lifetime appearances in this series.
<< Marquee pitching matchup highlights finale in Colorado
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The good news for a St. Louis Cardinals team that's been
handed back-to-back stinging defeats to the Colorado Rockies is that it will
have Chris Carpenter on the mound for the finale of this three-game series.
The bad news
<< Giants go for sweep in Brew City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Slowly, the San Francisco Giants are getting themselves
back into contention in the National League West and their solid offensive run
as of late has come at the expense of the sliding Milwaukee Brewers.
Giants hurler
<< Davydenko-Nalbandian to kickoff Davis Cup QF
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko will battle
former top-10 star David Nalbandian in Friday's opening singles rubber of the
Davis Cup quarterfinal between host Russia and Argentina.
The Russian Davydenko a
<< D'Backs vie to end slide in series opener vs. Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A coaching change hasn't helped to spark the Arizona
Diamondbacks, who look to end a five-game slide this evening in the opener of
a four-game series with the visiting Florida Marlins at Chase Field.
The Diamondba
Antonio Pierce retires; heads to TV >>
Bristol, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former linebacker Antonio Pierce has decided to
retire and will become an NFL analyst for ESPN.
Pierce spent the past five seasons with the New York Giants and played his
first four years with the Washing
Free agency a bust so far for Kings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles area is home to Venice
Beach, Hollywood and the famous 90210 zip code. The Fresh Prince once called it
home (on television at least), and former Yankee icon Joe Torre made the jump
from the Bi
CFL East Division: Despite loss, Als still team to beat >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Typically, when a team loses, adjustments
are made to account for those failings. And although the Montreal Alouettes had
many of those in their overtime loss to Saskatchewan, they're likely to win a
whole lot
Bucks officially sign Salmons and Gooden >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks made it official on
Thursday and signed guard John Salmons and forward Drew Gooden to multi-year
contracts.
Financial terms were not disclosed. However, the Milwaukee Journal-Se
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.
(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.
Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season.
MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.
Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting