Mets return home, rock Wainwright and Cards

Baseball Betting Lines

07/27/2010 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Francoeur and Jose Reyes each homered as the New York Mets made a successful return to Citi Field by roughing up Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals, 8-2, in the opener of a three-game series.

The Mets shook off their debilitating 2-9 road trip by scoring as many runs as they had in their previous four games combined. The total was the most the club scored since a 9-5 win over Washington on July 4.

Carlos Beltran aided the rare offensive outburst with two hits, a run scored and another driven in, while Jon Niese (7-4) gave up just one run on seven hits and two walks over six-plus innings to get the win.

Wainwright (14-6) came in sporting a 25-inning scoreless streak but was knocked around for a season-high six runs on six hits and three walks in five innings, his second shortest stint of the year.

St. Louis has dropped four of five following an eight-game winning streak.

New York jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth on Francoeur's towering blast to left-center, his ninth round-tripper of the year. Beltran walked and Ike Davis singled before the homer.

The hosts tacked on two more in the fifth via David Wright's sacrifice fly and Beltran's run-scoring base hit to left.

Aaron Miles flied out to leave the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, and Reyes' drive off Fernando Salas in the bottom half reached the second deck down the right-field line to make it 8-1.

Manny Acosta relieved Niese after the starter put the first two hitters on in the seventh and quickly got out of the inning unscathed.

Raul Valdes came in for Acosta after three consecutive singles loaded the bases in eighth and limited the damage to Randy Winn's pinch-hit double play grounder that scored Ryan Ludwick.

Francisco Rodriguez hurled a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the convincing win.

Ludwick's infield single in the first inning scored Jon Jay, and New York tied it in the second on Davis' RBI groundout, which ended Wainwright's streak at 26 innings.

Game Notes

The Mets had lost their seven previous series openers...The Cardinals came into the game with a major league-leading 39-9 record when scoring first...Mets manager Jerry Manuel was not on the bench, as he was serving a one-game suspension for his actions during last Friday's game against the Dodgers...Mets outfielder Jason Bay was not in the lineup and is being listed as day-to-day, as he is experiencing concussion-like symptoms after crashing into the outfield wall while making a catch against the Dodgers last Friday...Wainwright, whose six losses this season have all come on the road, had won his previous four decisions...St. Louis outhit New York, 10-9, but went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10.

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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.


Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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