Nats try to extend win streak against Phillies

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Usually sellers around the non-waiver trade deadline, the Nationals didn't seem to impressed on Friday with the Phillies' big midseason pickup.

One day after spoiling the Philadelphia debut of Roy Oswalt, Washington will go for a third straight win this evening in the second contest of a three-game series at Nationals Park.

Hoping to make up a small deficit for first place in the National League East, the Phillies acquired Oswalt from the Astros on Thursday and gave their new right-hander the start in last night's opener.

Oswalt, though, struggled in his debut, allowing five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits over six innings of an 8-1 Washington victory.

"I came out early a little amped up, holding the ball a little tight," Oswalt said. "I didn't really start feeling better until the last two innings."

The Nationals snapped the Phillies' season-high eight-game win streak and dropped the club 3 1/2 games behind the Braves for first place in the division.

Craig Stammen earned the victory after allowing just one run -- a solo homer by Jayson Werth in the seventh inning -- and five hits over 6 1/3 frames. Josh Willingham and Roger Bernadina both had a two-run double, while Adam Kennedy collected four hits and scored twice as the Nats won for the third time in four games.

"It was a really good performance by Craig and everybody else who took the ball," said Washington manager Jim Riggleman.

While Washington is looking to win three in a row for the first time since June 8-10, the club could make more noise off the field today than on. The Nats traded their closer Matt Capps on Thursday and then dealt infielder Cristian Guzman to the Rangers before last night's game.

Guzman was hitting .282 this year with a pair of homers and 25 RBI and his exit paved the way for Kennedy to start last night. Washington could also end up dealing Adam Dunn and his 24 homers before today's deadline.

Regardless, Washington has a game to play tonight and it will be sending out a former first-round selection to the hill.

Ross Detwiler, the sixth overall pick of the 2007 draft, will make his second start of the season after returning from hip surgery. The 24-year-old didn't have a memorable season debut as he gave up five runs -- all unearned -- on three hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings of a setback to the Brewers on Sunday.

"We did not have a good day defensively," Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said after the game. "We certainly didn't get it done today, but Detwiler has to pitch around [errors]. I thought he did a good job and minimized the damage."

Detwiler, 24, went 1-6 with a 5.00 earned run average in 15 games last season and has lost both of his previous career starts versus the Phillies, pitching to a 6.00 ERA in that span.

The Phillies will hope Joe Blanton continues to turn things around this evening. He is 4-6 with a 5.85 ERA this year and is coming off a victory over the Rockies on Monday in which he threw six innings of two-run, six-hit ball. It marked the first time in 16 starts this year that he allowed fewer than three runs in an outing.

Blanton, who has also pitched at least six innings in seven of his last eight starts, is 1-4 with a 6.62 ERA in eight road outings this year. The 29-year- old righty is also 2-3 with a 6.51 ERA lifetime versus the Nationals.

The Phillies have won four of seven over Washington this year, taking two of three at Nationals Park from April 5-8. Philadelphia is 22-6 over its last 28 meetings versus Washington and won seven of nine in D.C. last year.

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MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds

According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.

Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet.  The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.

MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.  In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State.  Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.

Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL.  In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.


ODDS TO WIN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Notre Dame
Ohio State
West Virginia
Texas
USC
Florida
California
Auburn
Oklahoma
Iowa
Louisville
Florida State
Michigan
Miami (FL)
LSU
Penn State
Virginia Tech
Nebraska
Tennessee
Georgia
Arizona State
Oregon
Clemson
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Alabama
Arkansas
Boston College
Michigan State
Maryland
South Carolina
Colorado
Purdue
Georgia Tech
TCU
UCLA
Arizona
Pittsburgh
Iowa State
Wisconsin
North Carolina State
Virginia
North Carolina
Fresno State
Hawaii
Northwestern
BYU
Oregon State
UNLV
Field (Any Other Team)
5-1
7-1
8-1
8-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
18-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
70-1
70-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
150-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
250-1
250-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
400-1
500-1
500-1
500-1
500-1
1000-1
1000-1
40-1



ODDS TO WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Miami (FL)
Florida State
Virginia Tech
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Boston College
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina State
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Duke
2-1
2-1
3-1
7-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
50-1
500-1



ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Texas
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Texas Tech
Colorado
Iowa State
Texas A&M
Kansas State
Missouri
Kansas
Baylor
Oklahoma State
7-5
9-5
9-2
12-1
14-1
15-1
15-1
30-1
30-1
35-1
100-1
100-1



ODDS TO WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Auburn
Florida
LSU
Georgia
Tennessee
Arkansas
Alabama
Mississippi
South Carolina
Mississippi State
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
5-2
11-4
4-1
6-1
7-1
7-1
9-1
20-1
28-1
75-1
100-1
300-1

For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.