Hits Acquires Kennedy Against Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

The right-hander last pitched on Monday when he gave up four runs on eight hits over eight innings of work in a 5-4 loss to Cleveland. Kennedy did manage to fan eight, giving him a total of 31 strikeouts over his last four appearances.

 

As for the A's, they are giving the ball to lefty Gio Gonzalez this time around. Gonzalez, who like Kennedy is facing the opposition today for the first time in his career, picked up his seventh win of the season on Tuesday as he held the Florida Marlins to just a single hit and three walks, while striking out nine through eight innings of a 1-0 decision.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Locked in a tie for first place in the National League Central with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers try to separate themselves by closing out their three-game interleague set against the Minnesota Twins on a positive note this afternoon at Target Field. The Brewers are actually lucky to be in this position at the moment, given that they squeezed by Minnesota in an 8-7 final yesterday in order to halt a four-game slide. It also doesn't help that a team with an amazing 29-11 record at home thus far has posted a mere 16-28 mark on the road.

 

Nyjer Morgan finished up 3-for-5 with a home run, double, triple and four RBI, and scored the winning run for the Brewers in a four-run ninth inning on Saturday to give the visitors the hard-fought win. Pinch-hitter George Kottaras plated the game-winning run, while Jonathan Lucroy went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI for Milwaukee in the triumph as well.

 

Takashi Saito worked a scoreless eighth inning to earn the victory and John Axford pitched a perfect ninth to collect his 21st save of the campaign. Milwaukee starter Chris Narveson was shelled by Minnesota hitters who piled up 14 hits and seven runs against him in just 4 2/3 innings of work.

 

Carl Pavano kept the Twins on top as he permitted just four runs on eight hits, striking out four, through 7 2/3 innings. Unfortunately the bullpen, specifically Matt Capps, was unable to bring home the win for their starter. Capps recorded only two outs but surrendered four runs on five hits as he absorbed his fourth loss of 2011.

 

A loser in two of his last three outings, Zack Greinke hopes to get better results this time out as he closes the series with Minnesota this afternoon.

 

As for the Twins, they'll be leaning on Nick Blackburn to get them through today at Target Field. The right-hander, just 1-2 with a 6.46 ERA in four career games versus Milwaukee, has dropped two straight outings, the most recent of which was a 15-0 thrashing by LA on Monday.

 

Minnesota, which is now 11 games below .500 and nine games off the pace in the American League Central, is trailing in the season series with the Brewers by a count of 4-1 and is now just 7-10 in interleague play this year. Milwaukee is showing a 6-8 mark versus the AL this season.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With hopes of remaining relevant in the second half of the season slowly slipping away, the Kansas City Royals try to bring an end to a five-game slide this afternoon at Coors Field as they close out a three-game interleague set against the Colorado Rockies. KC, which was 10 games under .500 on this date a year ago, is even worse off this time around as it deals with the fact that it is the American League's worst team yet again with just 33 victories in 83 opportunities. The biggest problem for the Royals is they simply can't get it done on the road in 2011 with just 10 wins in 36 chances following their 9-6 loss last night.

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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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