 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||
|
||||
Diamondbacks searching for momentum in clincher with NatsBaseball Betting Lines06/01/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks aim to build off a much-needed victory on Saturday when the National League West front-runners play the rubber match of a three-game series with the Washington Nationals today at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks used an outstanding rebound performance out of ace Brandon Webb and an offensive power surge to finally put an end to a season-long five- game slide last night. Webb threw his first shutout of the season and Arizona blasted four solo home runs to come through with a 4-0 decision over Washington. Webb (10-2) yielded just six hits and fanned eight Nationals without issuing a walk to record his eighth career shutout. The All-Star right-hander also halted a personal two-game losing streak after opening the season with nine consecutive winning starts. Mark Reynolds had two of Arizona's four homers, with Chris Young and Justin Upton also going deep in the win. Jason Bergmann (1-2) surrendered all four long balls but was otherwise solid for Washington. The right-hander gave up just seven hits and struck out eight without a walk in his first complete game in the majors. The Nationals played last night's test without third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the team's leader in home runs (8) and RBI (27). The young standout has missed six straight games with a sore left shoulder and is unlikely to return this afternoon. The Diamondbacks had lost nine of their last 11 contests prior to Saturday's triumph and have not won back-to-back games since ripping off four straight victories from May 13-16. Despite the rough stretch, Arizona still owns a 3 1/2-game lead over second-place Los Angeles in the NL West. Arizona will send Dan Haren to the mound in today's finale, hoping the prized offseason acquisition can turn around his recent lack of success. Haren won four of his five decisions in an Arizona uniform, but has gone 1-3 over his last four starts and pitched to a mediocre 4.78 earned run average during that stretch. The 2007 All-Star was hit rather hard in his most recent outing, a 6-3 home loss to San Francisco on Tuesday in which he surrendered five runs and nine hits -- including two homers -- over six innings. The durable right-hander also suffered a defeat at Florida on May 22 after allowing four runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 frames, although he did record a season-best eight strikeouts. Haren's lone career start against the Washington franchise came during his rookie season of 2003, when the 27-year-old was with St. Louis and the Nationals were still located in Montreal. He threw seven shutout innings in that game to lead the Cardinals to an 11-1 rout. He also faced the Expos in a relief role in 2004 and was dealt a loss after giving up four runs in just an inning of work. Washington counters with the tender-armed Shawn Hill, who returned to action on Tuesday after being skipped a turn in the rotation due to a sore elbow. He also spent the seasons first two-plus weeks on the disabled list with the same problem. The right-hander got through five innings at San Diego on Tuesday and held the Padres to two runs and five hits in a no-decision. Hill managed five strikeouts on the night as well, although he also walked five batters. The Ontario native will be making his first career appearance at Chase Field today. Hill did pitch against the Diamondbacks in Washington last April and received a tough-luck loss after yielding a pair of runs over 6 2/3 frames. Saturday's victory was Arizona's eighth win in its last 10 matchups with the Nationals.
<< Giants turn to ace in hopes of stopping Padres' surge
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres are on their best winning surge of the season, but the improving squad figures to face a stern challenge in today's finale of a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants from AT&T Par
<< Angels to hold Big A rubber match with Blue Jays
<< Rangers have brooms ready for visiting A's
<< Wie takes sixth in Germany
<< Cubs vie for perfect homestand, sweep of fading Rockies
Mariners, Tigers to play decider of weekend set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners are set to collide in the rubber match of a three-game weekend series this afternoon at Safeco Field. Kenji Johjima finished 2-for-4 with a double, two runs batted in and a ste
Slumping Dodgers to face Santana in finale with Mets >>
Strange gets first tour win in Wales >>
Worrell called up from Triple-A Memphis >>
Reds place struggling Fogg on DL >>
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana 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. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
|
|
