Rangers try to deal spiraling Tigers a seventh straight loss
Baseball Betting Lines
07/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Hunter hopes to deliver Texas' first series win in Detroit since 2007 this evening, when the Rangers play the middle test of their three-game set with the Tigers at Comerica Park.
Texas had lost 11 straight in Detroit before Nelson Cruz's two-run homer in the 14th inning propelled the Rangers to an 8-6 win in Monday's opener. Ian Kinsler provided a two-run homer and three RBI, while Josh Hamilton had four hits and drove in a run as the Rangers pounded out 19 hits to win for the fourth time in five contests overall and the 13th time in their last 16 on the road.
With another victory tonight, the Rangers would claim their first series win in Detroit since taking two of three from the Tigers in June of 2007.
Enrique Gonzalez (0-1) walked Hamilton with one out in the 14th before Cruz sent a 1-2 offering to the opposite field that landed barely over the wall in right for his 12th homer of the season. Cruz, who had three hits and four RBI, has gone 12-for-23 with 10 runs driven in over his last five games.
"It was a good feeling, especially since we had a hard time driving in a run after the seventh inning," Cruz said. "It was good to get that."
Matt Harrison (2-1) allowed two hits over four innings to get the win and Neftali Feliz recorded his 25th save, tying Kansas City's Joakim Soria for the American League lead.
Miguel Cabrera homered twice and drove in three runs for Detroit, but the Tigers dropped their season-high sixth straight game. Detroit also lost third baseman Brandon Inge, who suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal bone after getting hit with a pitch in the left hand during the game. He will miss the next 4-to-6 weeks.
"When you're going good you get them in and when you're not you don't," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We had some opportunities to do that, but we didn't do that [Monday]. It's part of struggling."
The Rangers hope to keep rolling tonight as Hunter tries to go 7-0 on the year. The 24-year-old beat Boston on Thursday, holding the Red Sox to a pair of runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings to become the first Texas starter to begin a season 6-0 since Esteban Loaiza in 1999.
Hunter, who beat the Tigers the only other time he faced them, has held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in seven of his eight outings and has pitched to a 2.39 earned run average on the season.
Detroit, meanwhile, recalled righty Armando Galarraga to make the start tonight. Galarraga, who nearly threw a perfect game earlier in the season, was optioned to Triple-A Toledo earlier in the month because the Tigers did not have the need for a fifth starter until now. He is 3-2 with a 4.45 ERA on the year.
Galarraga has faced the Rangers three times and is 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA against them.
Texas has won three of its five matchups with the Tigers this season after losing seven of the nine meetings a year ago.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers young starter Clayton Kershaw has never reached double digits in wins and will get a chance tonight against the NL West-rival San Francisco Giants in the continuation of a three-game series from Chavez Rav
<< Mets hope to find their road game in Arizona
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The road hasn't been too kind for the New York Mets and
last night's embarrassing loss in Arizona was proof. The Mets will try to
regroup on their 11-game, three-city tour out west tonight in the second
portion of a three-gam
<< Cardinals seek seventh straight victory in clash with Phils
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home runs are not easy to hit, but the St. Louis Cardinals
made it their job in last night's win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The NL
Central-leading Cardinals will try to go deep again Tuesday in the second
installment of
<< NHL veteran Keane won't return to Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time NHL forward Mike Keane won't return
to the Manitoba Moose for the 2010-11 season.
Manitoba, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks,
announced it won't renew the 43-year-
<< Line of Scrimmage: NFL GameChangers '10: Specialists
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Belichick has achieved considerable
success during his 10-season stint as head coach of the New England Patriots,
but for those with the time or wherewithal to look at his resume' with a
magnifying glass
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Reds are going to be careful with how many innings rookie Mike Leake racks up this season. They might be tempted to take the leash off tonight given how well he pitched against the Nationals last time. Leake
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs had the wind taken out of their sails in
last night's loss to the Houston Astros and will try for a measure of revenge
Tuesday in the second installment of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs wo
Royals try to make it two in a row over Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals try to string back-to-back wins
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Garza takes aim at win No. 11 when the Tampa Bay Rays
and Baltimore Orioles continue a three-game set this evening at Camden Yards.
Getting that win tonight shouldn't be a problem for Garza, who is 8-1 with a
2.48 ear
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Hughes takes aim at win No. 12 when the New York
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Hughes, the loser in last Tuesday's All-Star Game, won six o
SPORTS BETTING
NFL Football Betting OnlineIn terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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