08/28/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Aaron Harang will try to win consecutive starts for the first time this season tonight when the Cincinnati Reds close out a three-game midweek series with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Harang, a 16-game winner in each of the last two seasons, has plummeted through a disappointing and injury plagued 2008, recently going six straight starts without a victory as his record plunged to 3-13.
He turned it around at least briefly in his last outing, however blanking the Colorado Rockies over six innings of the Reds' 8-5 triumph at Coors Field on Aug. 22.
The second-to-last defeat of the aforementioned skid came against the Astros, when Harang dropped a 13-4 decision after allowing nine hits and eight runs in just four innings of an Aug. 10 game in Cincinnati.
He is 8-6 with a complete game and a 4.49 earned run average in 18 lifetime starts against Houston.
For the Astros, 30-year-old right-hander Brandon Backe can remain unbeaten for his career against the Reds.
He's 3-0 in nine games - five starts - against Cincinnati, posting a 3.16 ERA ovr 31 1/3 innings.
Backe also picked up a win in his last start, scattering five hits and three runs in seven innings of an 8-3 downing of the New York Mets on Aug. 23 at Shea Stadium.
The Galveston, Texas native is an inconsistent 3-4 with three no-decisions over his last 10 starts and 2-2 over his last four, including losses to the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks in which he was raked for 18 hits and 22 runs in nine innings.
In the two wins, he's given up just nine hits and four runs in 14 innings.
On Wednesday, Roy Oswalt continued his mastery of the Reds with seven strong innings to lead the Astros to a 4-1 win.
Oswalt (12-9) allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts for the Astros, who evened this three-game series and in the process snapped a two- game skid.
Oswalt improved to an incredible 22-1 in his career against the Reds, including a 3-0 mark this season.
Hunter Pence and Ty Wigginton both hit a two-run homer and Lance Berkman registered three hits with a run scored in the win.
Jeff Keppinger scored the only run for the Reds, who have dropped three of their last four games.
Josh Fogg (2-7) suffered the loss despite a solid outing in which he allowed two runs on six hits over six innings.
The Astros swept a four-game series in Cincinnati from August 7-10 and have won nine of the 11 matchups between the teams so far this season. Houston is 20-6 against the Reds since the start of the 2007 campaign.
<< Red Sox hoping to pay last respects to Yankee Stadium with sweep
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester attempts to bounce back from one of his worst
starts of the season this afternoon, when the Boston Red Sox try to complete a
three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in what will likely be the final game
played
<< Angels activate Willits from disabled list
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim activated
outfielder Reggie Willits from the 15-day disabled list prior to Wednesday's
6-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Willits pinch-hit for Mike Napoli in the ninth t
<< Brown, Davis help A's hold off Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Emil Brown hit a two-run homer and finished
with three runs driven in, while Rajai Davis scored twice and notched his
first career four-hit game, as the Oakland Athletics edged the Los Angeles
Angels
<< Angels recall Willits from disabled list
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim activated
outfielder Reggie Willits from the 15-day disabled list prior to Wednesday's
6-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Willits pinch-hit for Mike Napoli in the ninth t
Marlins close road trip in Atlanta >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins hope to end a nine-game road trip on a
winning note in tonight's rubber match with the Atlanta Braves from Turner
Field.
Florida has gone 4-4 thus far on the swing, which also featured stops in San
Fr
Rays aim for monumental win in finale with Blue Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red-hot right-hander Edwin Jackson goes for a sixth win in
seven starts when the first-place Tampa Bay Rays close out a three-game
midweek series with the visiting Toronto Blue Jays tonight at Tropicana Field.
The
Angels continue homestand with visit from Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels continue to tune up for the
postseason as they open a four-game series with the Texas Rangers tonight at
Angel Stadium.
Los Angeles enters tonight's tilt having dropped nine of its last 14
Twins visit A's in next stop on grueling trip >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins continue their push towards the
postseason this evening, when they continue their 14-game road trip with the
first of four clashes against the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.
Minnesota,
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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