Skidding Indians head out west to battle Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

09/02/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians will take their four-game losing streak out west for seven straight games starting with tonight's opener of a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.

The Indians are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago White Sox, culminating with Wednesday's 6-4 loss in the series finale. Carlos Carrasco made his 2010 debut for the Tribe and pitched well enough in the no- decision, allowing three runs in 7 1/3 innings.

Justin Germano gave up two runs in the eighth inning to suffer the loss, as the Indians blew a 4-1 lead and allowed four runs in the decisive eighth frame. Jensen Lewis was reached for a run in the ninth.

"It was a tough series emotionally," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "I hope we learned from it. I thought our starters threw very well, but we struggled from the back end."

Asdrubal Cabrera and Jordan Brown both knocked in a run, while Shin-Soo Choo and Jayson Nix finished with three hits and a run scored for Cleveland, which is last in the Central and will also visit the LA Angels of Anaheim.

Rookie Josh Tomlin will take the mound Thursday for the Indians and is 2-3 with a 4.08 ERA in six starts. He has lost three straight outings before topping Kansas City last Friday in a 15-4 rout at Progressive Field. He held the Royals to three runs in five innings, despite walking a career-high four.

The right-hander, who is 0-2 in three road starts, has never faced Seattle.

Seattle has lost eight of its last 11 games and dropped two of three meetings with the Angels in the Emerald City. In Thursday's 4-2 loss, Jason Vargas was touched for three runs over seven innings and struck out four in defeat. He allowed the go-ahead, two-run homer by Hideki Matsui in the seventh inning.

"Vargas was good tonight," Mariners manager Daren Brown said. "I thought he did an outstanding job. Actually, 6 2/3 solid innings then he left a pitch up to Matsui at the wrong time in the game and it cost him. But, I thought he did a nice job."

Franklin Gutierrez had two hits and the lone RBI for the Mariners, who are the cellar dwellers in the AL West. Ichiro Suzuki has recorded at least 200 hits in each of his nine seasons and currently has 171. He has two hits in each of his last three games.

Doug Fister gets the nod for the M's tonight and he's 4-10 with a 3.73 ERA in 22 starts this season. Fister, who is just 1-9 in his last 15 starts, suffered a hard-luck loss the last time out in a 1-0 setback versus Minnesota last Saturday. He allowed the only run in seven innings with six strikeouts.

The righty, who faced Cleveland for the first time in his career back on August 22 of last season in a no-decision, owns a 3-5 ledger in 13 starts at Safeco Field this season.

Seattle won two of three meetings with Cleveland last month from Aug. 13-15 at Progressive Field. The Indians, however, are 6-3 in the last nine meetings.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.