O's, Yanks open set in the Bronx

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have to be wondering which A.J. Burnett will show up this afternoon when they open a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

After an awful August that saw him go 0-4 with a 7.80 earned run average, Burnett opened his September slate with a win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, as he allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. It was his first victory since beating Cleveland on July 28 and upped his record on the year to 10-12, while lowering his ERA to 5.15.

"It is a good win for me, but my numbers are not important. I'm trying to get some good momentum in this last month," said Burnett.

Burnett has pitched well against the O's this season, going 2-1 in three starts with a 1.64 ERA. For his career, he is 11-3 against them with a 4.47 ERA in 16 starts.

The Yankees had Alex Rodriguez back in the lineup on Sunday, but were denied a sweep in the finale of their three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, falling 7-3.

The loss halted the Yankees' season-high eight-game winning streak, but they maintained their 2 1/2 game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East after the Rays were beaten by Baltimore on Sunday.

Phil Hughes (16-7) was tagged for six runs and seven hits in six innings in the loss for the Yankees

The Orioles, meanwhile, helped out the Yankees on Sunday, as Corey Patterson homered and drove in three runs and Nick Markakis went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs batted in to lead Baltimore to an 8-7 win over Tampa Bay. Brian Roberts went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI for the Orioles, who took the last two games and have won six of their last nine.

Alfredo Simon (4-2) got the win in relief with a scoreless inning and Koji Uehara fanned two in retiring the side in order in the ninth to earn his sixth save.

Today, Baltimore will hand the ball to left-handed rookie Brian Matusz, who has won his last three starts. Matusz beat the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, holding them to a pair of runs and six hits in six innings to improve to 7-12 on the year to go along with a 4.72 ERA.

Matusz has lost all three of his starts to the Yankees this season, but has pitched to a 2.41 ERA in those outings. In four career starts against them he is 1-3 with a 2.10 ERA.

Sandboc Baseball Betting News

<< Hunter steps in for ailing Lee in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Hunter steps in for the ailing Cliff Lee this afternoon when the Texas Rangers open a four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. The original plan was to have Lee get an extra day of rest because o

<< Angels send Haren to the hill for matchup with Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-season acquisition Dan Haren makes the ninth start in a so-far unsuccessful stint with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim tonight when they host the Cleveland Indians to begin a three-game series at Angel Stadium. A 14-g

<< Twins aim to extend win streak versus Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Minnesota Twins will attempt to extend their current winning streak to four games when the American League Central front-runners take on a team they've had plenty of success against this season, the Kansas City Royals, t

<< Braves head to Pittsburgh for key set with Bucs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A loss today could push the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves out of first place for the first time since May 30. They probably couldn't be happier to see the Pittsburgh Pirates. Atlanta aims to maintain its ed

<< Mets resume rough road trip in Washington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After breaking out of a prolonged slump with four solid starts, New York Mets hurler Mike Pelfrey fell back into his struggling ways last time out. That is sort of how his team has been all season long. Pelfrey will try

Tigers hope to play spoiler against White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers' postseason chances have probably gone by the wayside. However, they will get a chance to play spoiler this week and open a four-game series with the playoff-hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.

Rays, Red Sox start series at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays can deal the final blow to the Boston Red Sox' playoff hopes this week, as the American League East rivals open a three-game set at Fenway Park. The Rays come into tonight's opener trailing the New York

Phillies bring up Robertson, Worley to start Monday >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies bolstered their bullpen Monday with two additions, bringing up lefties Nate Robertson and Mike Zagurski, and recalling Vance Worley from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start Monday

Villanova loses starting defensive end >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending FCS national champion Villanova has lost sophomore Marlon Johnson, its only returning starter on the defensive line, to a season-ending ACL injury. Johnson, a defensive end, suffered the injury d

Rockies hope to extend charge as they battle Reds >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Don't look now, but the Colorado Rockies may about to be putting together one of those strong September runs that has propelled them into the postseason in years past. After climbing back into the National League West rac

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.