Blue Jays seek fourth straight victory in opener with Indians
Baseball Betting Lines
07/30/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays take aim at their fourth straight win
this evening when they open a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians
at Rogers Centre.
Toronto started its six-game homestand in impressive fashion, as it completed
a sweep of the woeful Baltimore Orioles, culminating with a 5-0 win on
Wednesday.
Brad Mills threw seven shutout innings for his first career win and gave up
just two hits and three walks with four strikeouts, as Toronto moved to 12-0
against Baltimore on the season.
"When you're in a tight game like that it's easy to focus and concentrate on
the pitches I'm trying to make," said Mills. "It was nice to come out here and
get the win."
Lyle Overbay smacked a three-run home run while Adam Lind went 3-for-3 with an
RBI for the Blue Jays, who have homered in their last 10 games and have won
five of their last six.
Heading to the hill for the Jays tonight will be righty Shaun Marcum, who has
won his last two starts. Marcum beat the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, holding
them to two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings to run his record to 9-4 to
go along with a 3.36 earned run average.
Marcum's last loss came to the Indians back on July 1 - a setback that
afterwards landed him on the disabled list with elbow discomfort - and is 0-3
lifetime against them with a 5.34 ERA in seven games, five of which have been
starts.
Cleveland will counter with righty Justin Masterson, who beat Marcum and the
Jays in that July 1 contest, but is 0-2 in four starts since. Masterson fell
to Tampa Bay on Sunday, as he allowed four runs (three earned) and five hits
in 6 2/3 innings, dropping him to 3-9 on the year.
This will be Masterson's second start against the Blue Jays. He is 2-0 in
eight appearances against them with a 2.04 ERA.
Cleveland enters this series on the heels of losing three of four to the New York Yankees, including an 11-4 loss on Thursday at Progressive Field. Austin
Kearns and Matt LaPorta each drove in a run for the Indians, who have lost
five of six.
Frank Herrmann (0-1) was charged in defeat with a run in 1 1/3 relief innings.
Starter Mitch Talbot departed after two-plus innings due to a mid-back strain
after allowing a run while walking four.
Cleveland has won four of its seven meetings with the Jays this season.
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Tigers hope to stop road skid in clash with Red Sox >>
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Red Sox a
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Giants send Lincecum to the hill versus Dodgers >>
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Chicago
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
New York Giants betting lines
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Dallas Cowboys betting lines
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
Oakland Raiders betting lines
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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