Mets to wrap up long trip with matinee against Nats
Baseball Betting Lines
09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Apparently, winning four straight games just isn't the Washington Nationals' thing.
After failing to win more than three games in a row for the seventh time this season, Washington instead seeks a series victory over the New York Mets in today's finale of a three-game set at Nationals Park.
The Nationals were stifled in their attempt to win a fourth straight game by Mets starter Dillon Gee, who was making his major league debut in the place of the injured Johan Santana (pectoral strain). The 24-year-old was outstanding, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning before eventually yielding one run on two hits over seven frames.
Gee also drove in a run for the Mets, who got a three-run homer from Ike Davis to win for just the third time in nine contests on a 10-game road trip that wraps up this afternoon.
"That's been the joke with me all season in Triple-A. I think I had 20- something [at-bats] and not one hit, so it was nice to get one here," Gee said.
New York picked up the win despite third baseman David Wright being a late scratch due to a bruised left finger suffered during a stolen-base attempt on Monday. The former All-Star is day-to-day, while teammate Jose Reyes sat out his 11th consecutive game because of a right oblique strain.
Willie Harris' leadoff homer in the sixth frame spoiled Gee's no-hit bid and represented the lone run for the Nationals. Cuban Yuneski Maya, also making his MLB debut, allowed four runs over five innings to take the loss, though he did retire 11 of the final 12 batters he faced.
"The third inning, fourth inning, fifth inning, he got much better location with his breaking ball and pitched effectively a little more," said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman of Maya. "He just got better as it went along."
Today's finale will feature a pair of 35-year-olds in the Mets' R.A. Dickey and Livan Hernandez of the Nats, and both hurlers are coming off rough outings.
Dickey has allowed 13 runs over his last three starts and a season-high seven of those came in Friday's loss in Chicago, the knuckleballer's first setback since Aug. 8. Dickey fell to 9-6 with a 2.91 earned run average on the season.
The right-hander owns a pair of no-decisions against Washington this year despite allowing only two earned runs in 13 frames of work, and is 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA lifetime against the Nationals.
Hernandez, meanwhile, is 1-2 over his last three starts and has yielded 20 runs over that time. Pitching on Friday for the first time since signing a one-year contract extension on Aug. 29, the righty was drilled for eight runs -- tying a season high -- over just 4 1/3 innings of work.
Hernandez, who is 9-10 with a 3.81 ERA this year, has performed well versus the Mets this year, going 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA in three starts. The veteran has faced the club 35 times in his career and is 12-13 with a 4.29 ERA.
The Nationals have won eight of 14 versus the Mets this year, with the teams splitting eight games in Washington.
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday night brings out the best and the worst in the Canadian Football League as the slumping Edmonton Eskimos entertain the high-flying Calgary Stampeders in a Western Division showdown at Commonwealth Stadium.
<< Lions seek second straight upset in clash with Argos
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a huge upset win against the
Montreal Alouettes, the British Columbia Lions shoot for back-to-back
victories for the first time in 2010 as they entertain the Toronto Argonauts
on Saturday afternoon at
<< Familiar foes do battle in Winnipeg
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in as many weeks the
Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers find themselves pitted
against each other on the gridiron, this time at Canad Inns Stadium on Sunday
afternoon.
<< Als seek return to win column in clash with Tiger-Cats
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes continue to compete
without the services of quarterback Anthony Calvillo as the team challenges
the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this weekend at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Calvillo, who suffered a chest
<< A's hope to build a win streak versus Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At seven games off the pace in the American League West
Division, time is running out on the Oakland Athletics and their hopes for a
postseason berth. The A's will try to get a winning streak going tonight in
the finale of a
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Wakefield gets the call on short notice this evening when the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays play the rubber match of their three-game series at Fenway Park. After getting blown out in the opener of this set
Orioles aim for rare sweep of Yanks in the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have been the worst team in the
American League all season. Today, though, the Orioles will have a chance to
do something against the best team in baseball that they haven't done in more
than 2
Injury-riddled White Sox resume set in Detroit >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries are starting to pile up for the Chicago White Sox.
Today, the short-handed White Sox will continue their push towards the
postseason, as they play the third installment of a four-game series against
the
Angels try to avoid rare sweep at hands of Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Angels haven't been swept by Cleveland at home in more
than a decade. They'll try to avoid that distinction tonight in the finale of
a three-game series from the Big A.
Anaheim was previously swept in this series from
Astros, Cubs wrap set at Wrigley Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have to be thinking about returning home
for an extended period of time. But first they have to take care of business
in the Windy City, as the Astros shoot for a series win over the Chicago Cubs
tonight in
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.