Padres go for unprecedented road sweep of Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

08/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres are pulling away in the National League West and look to further distance themselves from the rest of the division this afternoon, when they shoot for a rare four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs from historic Wrigley Field.

The Padres have never swept the Cubs in four games in the Windy City, but did win a four-game series between the teams at Petco Park from May 5-8, 2006. They've won the first three portions of this set and are coming off Wednesday's 5-1 triumph in which starter Clayton Richard stymied the opposition with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball to improve to 11-5 this season.

"You can't look at your opponent -- even if they're struggling -- because everyone is here for a reason," Richard said. "As a pitcher, we have to attack them as the best hitters out there. [The Cubs] deserve respect, they're big league hitters."

Adrian Gonzalez clubbed his 23rd homer and scored three times for the Padres, who have won nine of 10 games and pushed their lead atop the NL West to six games over San Francisco. The Giants dropped their third straight game last night in Philadelphia. Matt Stairs knocked in two runs in a winning effort.

San Diego will pay a visit to Milwaukee following its series in the Second City.

Surprising Padres starter Mat Latos will make his 23rd start of the season today and is 12-5 with a 2.32 earned run average. Latos is 7-1 over his last eight decisions, but did not factor in the outcome of a 3-2 loss at San Francisco last Saturday.

Latos pitched well enough for the win, allowing only one run on five hits through six innings of work. He has pitched at least six innings in three straight and six of his last seven trips to the mound.

The right-hander, who is 8-3 in 14 road starts this season, will face the Cubs for only the second time in his career. Latos lost to Chicago back on August 19 of last season, as he permitted five runs and seven hits in just 3 2/3 frames of a 7-1 loss.

Chicago made some news before losing for the third straight time by dealing two-time All-Star first baseman Derrek Lee to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday for three minor league pitchers. Lee rejected a deal to Anaheim in July, but was willing to join the NL East-leading Braves for a possible run to the playoffs.

"It's tough. That's the hardest part just leaving your teammates, especially having to play against them this weekend," Lee said during a news conference. "I had a great time here. I grew as a player, grew as a person."

Lee also stated how it was disappointing not to win a championship for the title-plagued Cubs and enjoyed playing in front of the Wrigley Field crowd. He also said joining an Atlanta team that is in contention of going to the postseason was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

He will switch dugouts when the Braves land in Chicago tomorrow for a weekend series.

The news of losing perhaps their best offensive player didn't sit well with the Cubs, who got a team-best two hits from Alfonso Soriano. Jeff Baker drove in the team's only run during the second inning and Xavier Nady went 1-for-3 with a double in Lee's spot at first base.

Casey Coleman pitched the first 4 1/3 innings for the Cubs and yielded three runs on six hits and three walks.

"It's a good learning experience, first time out as a starter," Coleman said. "Facing a good team -- first place. It's a team with that lineup [Wednesday] that's going to put pressure on you with all the lefties and speed they had in there. I just have to do a better job of throwing strikes and getting ahead and putting the pressure on them."

Taking the mound for the Cubs this afternoon will be Carlos Zambrano, who is set to start for the third time since his team-imposed suspension. He did not record a decision on August 9 in a loss at San Francisco and allowed two runs in five innings. He last toed the rubber in Saturday's 3-2 road victory over St. Louis and tossed 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball, improving to 4-6 in 27 games (11 starts) to go along with a 5.27 earned run average.

Zambrano has pitched well in his career against San Diego, going 6-2 with a 2.71 earned run average in 10 starts.

The Padres and Cubs are meeting for the first time since San Diego took five of nine matchups a year ago. The Padres had lost five straight at Wrigley Field before winning Monday's opener of this series.

Starbuck-casino Baseball Betting News

<< Rockies target rare series win at Chavez Ravine
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies still have playoff aspirations, but right now the club would settle for a long-overdue series win over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies will try to accomplish that feat in tonight's rubber ma

<< Rays take winning streak into Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to push their winning streak to six games this evening when they open a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum. That may be easier said than done, though, as the Rays

<< Next-best thing to Rachel and Zenyatta
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since it doesn't appear that Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta will race against each other before the Breeders' Cup in November, Saturday's meeting between leading three-year-old fillies Devil May Care and Blind

<< Can Brett Favre do it again?
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -Even Brett Favre was amazed by what he did last season as a 40-year-old quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.In his 19th season, Favre threw for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns while setting career bests for completion rate

<< Rockies win 10-inning thriller at Dodger Stadium
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora scored the go-ahead run on Octavio Dotel's wild pitch in the 10th inning, and the Dodgers had the tying run thrown out at the plate to end the game, as the Rockies took a wild 3-2 decisio

Red Sox go for season sweep of Halos at Fenway >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox try to complete a season sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this evening when they wrap up their three-game series at Fenway Park. Boston, which was swept by the Angels in last year's Americ

Marlins close road trip with finale of four-game set in Pittsburgh >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins will close out what's been an up-and- down 10-game road trip tonight with the last of four straight meetings with the downtrodden Pittsburgh Pirates from PNC Park. Florida began its three-city tour in

Braves have brooms ready for visiting Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves won't have newly-acquired first baseman Derrek Lee in the lineup this afternoon, but will still try to complete a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals at Turner Field. Lee, who was hitting

Surging Twins try to further bury struggling ChiSox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After posting 70 wins for the 10th straight year, the Minnesota Twins have their sights set on reaching the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The AL Central leaders are on the right path and will shoot for a three-game sweep o

Yankees turn to Hughes in series finale vs. Tigers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Hughes goes after win No. 15 this afternoon when the New York Yankees close out their four-game series with the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. Hughes has alternated wins and losses in his last seven outings, bu

MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker
Since opening in 1997, MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker has been a leader in Internet wagering, providing single account access for sports and casino play. This sportsbook has a revolutionary payment method, Direct Bank Transfer, gives players a faster and more secure transaction option for both deposits and withdrawals. This Internet Sportsbook takes pride in offering an aggressive VIP rewards program, along with seasonal reduced juice specials and high parlay payout odds. MySportsbook.com has set new standards in the sports betting industry, from their fantastic customer service, industry leading bonuses, extensive selection of wager types and props, to the fastest payouts anywhere... MySportsbook.com is America's Sportsbook! Open an account today at MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker, or call toll-free 1-866-238-6648

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Master Card needs.