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07/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets ace Johan Santana has allowed only one run through his last three starts and hopes to continue that stingy trend today in the finale of a four-game set against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Santana is 2-0 with a microscopic 0.39 earned run average in his past three starts and is coming off his second straight scoreless outing. After going the distance for a three-hitter on July 6 versus Cincinnati, the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner fired seven shutout frames in a 3-0 victory over Atlanta last Sunday. He has struck out at least five batters in his previous three starts and improved to 7-5 in 19 outings this season.
The left-hander, who is just 1-2 in nine away appearances in 2010, squared off with San Francisco in a 5-4 win back on May 8 at Citi Field. Santana did not record a decision that day and was reached for four runs and eight hits with six K's over 7 2/3 innings. In six career games (5 starts) against the Giants, Santana is 2-0 with a 3.89 ERA.
In order for New York to avoid a four-game sweep, it will need a strong performance from Santana after Hisanori Takahashi's brutal effort in Saturday's 8-4 loss. Takahashi was ripped for six runs and seven hits in only 2 2/3 innings of work and Raul Valdes allowed two runs in relief.
"He's given up a number of runs in bunches," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said of Takahashi. "Those things are sometimes difficult to defend or overcome. We have to sit down and evaluate it, look at it, and discuss it. And we'll try to make the best decision for the team."
Ike Davis had a big day in defeat, going 2-for-4 with a pair of homers and three RBI, while David Wright drove in the other run for the Mets, who have dropped six of their last seven contests and are now five games behind Atlanta for the NL East lead. Philly moved up to 4 1/2 games off the pace.
The Mets are winless (0-3) on their 11-game road trip against the Giants, Diamondbacks and Dodgers. They are not expected to have shortstop Jose Reyes back in the lineup today since he's still bothered by an oblique strain.
San Francisco has won a season high five straight games and has the brooms ready for a sweep this afternoon. Andres Torres clubbed a three-run homer during a five-run second inning and Buster Posey went deep in the win, the Giants' ninth in the past 10 games.
"He has a great swing up there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Posey. "I said this earlier: his bat stays in the zone quite a while. That's what enables him to get that carry on the ball to right-center or right field like he does."
Pablo Sandoval ended 3-for-4 with three RBI for the Giants, who are 3 1/2 games behind San Diego for the NL West lead. Giants starter Matt Cain went seven innings and was charged with two runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Brian Wilson got the final out of the game for his 25th save and pushed his team a season-high nine games above .500.
The last time the Giants swept the Mets in four games was from May 1-4 of the 2000 campaign by the Bay.
Taking the mound for the 19th time this season for San Francisco will be Jonathan Sanchez, who is 7-6 with a 3.47 ERA. He has won five of his last seven decisions, but did not factor in the outcome of a 10-5 win at Washington on July 10. He allowed five runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings that day.
Sanchez, who hasn't made it past the sixth inning in each of his last five trips to the bump, owns a decent 5-3 mark in nine home starts this season. He faced the Mets in a 6-4 road defeat on May 7 and posted a no-decision after permitting four runs in seven frames.
The lefty is 2-1 with a 4.18 ERA in seven career games (5 starts) against the Mets, who had won in nine of their last 12 stops at AT&T Park before losing the first three portions of this series.
<< Szavay wins second straight title
Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hungary's Agnes Szavay captured her
second consecutive tournament title with a three-set victory over crowd
favorite Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic in Sunday's final of
the Pra
<< Marlins aim for series win vs. Nationals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marlins right-hander Alex Sanabia makes his fifth trip to a
major-league mound today, seeking to lift Florida to a series win in the
finale of a three-game set with the visiting Washington Nationals at Sun Life
Stadium
<< Cook leads Rockies into finale at Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suburban Cincinnati native Aaron Cook returns home to face
a team that's never beaten him today, when the Colorado Rockies head to Great
American Ball Park to meet the Reds in the finale of a three-game series.
The host
<< Pirates go with Maholm in finale vs. Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Paul Maholm can establish a rarity for the 2010
Pittsburgh Pirates -- a win streak -- when they host the Houston Astros in the
finale of a three-game weekend series today at PNC Park.
The Pirates had lost sev
Twins seek another victory over White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins will try to make things even tighter in
the AL Central, as they wrap up a four-game set with the division-leading
Chicago White Sox today at Target Field.
After losing the opener of this series,
A's, Royals close out set in KC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics shoot for their first five-game
winning streak of the 2010 campaign, as they close up a three-game series with
the Kansas City Royals today at Kauffman Stadium.
On Saturday, Adam Rosales drove
Boston's Lester takes mound vs. Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester goes for his seventh straight home win today, as
he leads the Boston Red Sox into the finale of a four-game series with the
Texas Rangers at Fenway Park.
Lester, who tossed a perfect inning in the All-Star
Pitcher's duel on tap between Rays/Yankees >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of All-Star pitchers go head-to-head today, as David
Price and the Tampa Bay Rays conclude a three-game set with Andy Pettitte and
the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
The 24-year-old Price recently earned his
“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.
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.
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.
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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