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07/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a perfect world, Cincinnati Reds starter Travis Wood would be trying for his third straight winning start. However, no offensive support in a pair of 1-0 setbacks has the 23-year-old still in search of his first major league win.
Wood will try for that elusive victory this evening, and will also be looking to help Cincinnati to its sixth win in seven meetings with the Houston Astros this year in the opener of a three-game set at Minute Maid Park.
The left-handed Wood has pitched to a 2.02 earned run average over his first four MLB starts, but only has a 0-1 mark to show for it due to some bad luck.
Wood carried a perfect game into the ninth inning of a start versus the Phillies on July 10, but got a no-decision in his team's 1-0 extra-inning loss despite allowing just one hit with eight strikeouts and no walks.
The 2005 second-round pick was nearly as sharp on Saturday versus the Rockies, but he was stuck with a 1-0 loss even though Wood gave up just a run on three hits and four walks over six innings.
"It's baseball, it's going to happen," said Wood, who has never faced the Astros, on the Reds' website. "We're a great hitting team, we're going to have our slumps where we have to scratch and claw to get a run."
Wood will be looking to extend the Reds' recent run of success over their division rivals. Cincinnati swept a three-game set in Houston from April 27-29 and has won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams at Minute Maid Park. The Reds are also 17-5 versus the Astros since the start of last season.
Cincinnati took the first two games of its recent four-game series with the Nationals, but went on to drop the final two meetings. That includes Thursday's 7-1 loss, in which Edinson Volquez allowed six runs over 2 1/3 innings of his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery.
"He was down too low with his changeup, and up too high with his fastball. So just trying to find a consistent release point," said Reds manager Dusty Baker. "He had that last time out, and this time he just couldn't find it."
Cincinnati, which still trails first-place St. Louis by 1 1/2 games in the National League Central, should have Joey Votto back in the lineup tonight after resting the first baseman yesterday. Less certain is fellow All-Star Scott Rolen, who has missed the last six games because of a sore right hamstring.
Houston's Bud Norris will try to take advantage of Rolen's absence as he looks for his first win since May 13. The 25-year-old is 0-3 with a 6.15 ERA in six starts since and has dropped back-to-back outings.
Norris' last loss came on Saturday versus the Pirates. He gave up seven runs -- four earned -- on nine hits and two walks over just 4 2/3 innings, falling to 2-7 on the season with a 6.09 ERA.
The right-hander is also 0-4 with a 7.36 ERA in six home starts this season and faced the Reds for the first time in his career on April 27. Norris lost that one, getting charged with five runs on six hits and four walks over five innings.
Houston returns home tonight after a 3-3 road trip that was capped with Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Cubs in 12 innings. Jason Michaels broke a 1-1 game with a two-run, pinch-hit double in the frame and also scored on Angel Sanchez's subsequent single.
That last run was big, as Gustavo Chacin gave up a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame but still earned his fifth career save.
"We kept battling," Astros manager Brad Mills said on his team's website. "In a game like this, our bullpen was on fumes, and to see those guys come out and do what they needed to do, thank goodness for the off day [Thursday]."
Sanchez ended with three hits, while Houston's 3-4-5 hitters -- Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee -- combined to go 0-for-16 with five strikeouts.
<< Stars, Brunnstrom avoid arbitration
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars and Fabian Brunnstrom have
agreed to terms on a one-year contract that will pay the left wing $675,000
for the upcoming 2010-11 season.
The deal was struck Friday morning before a schedu
<< Mets designate Nieve for assignment; recall Acosta
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have designated pitcher
Fernando Nieve for assignment and recalled pitcher Manny Acosta from Triple-A
Buffalo to fill the roster spot.
Nieve was 2-4 with a 6.00 earned run average in 40 games
<< A-Rod goes for 600th homer as Yankees continue set with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Alex Rodriguez will be attempting to achieve another
milestone in his illustrious career when the New York Yankees superstar takes
the field against the visiting Kansas City Royals this evening.
After homering in New York
<< Phils start four-game set at home against Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies seemed confident with Roy
Halladay on the mound earlier this season. Lately they've been fortunate to
get a win when the former American League Cy Young Award honoree starts.
Halladay will get the
White Sox' Buehrle tries to end longtime woes against A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though they still own the best record in baseball since
June 9, the Chicago White Sox have hit a bit of a rough patch of their last
few games. The timing couldn't be worse for starter Mark Buehrle, who has yet
to taste succes
AL Central: White Sox GM Williams exploring limited trade options >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Chicago White Sox continue to try and fend off
Detroit and Minnesota in the American League Central standings, all eyes are
on general manager Kenny Williams to make something happen before next
Saturda
Gaming: Can the WAC maintain its ATS Superiority? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last season was quite a turnaround for
the Western Athletic Conference, as the league's nine teams covered 21 of their
36 non-conference games (with two pushes) for an impressive 61% winning
percentage.
Wigan inks midfielder McArthur >>
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Promising Hamilton midfielder James McArthur
has joined Wigan for an undisclosed transfer fee.
The 22-year-old has penned a four-year contract at the DW Stadium, where he
will team up with former Accies c
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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