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05/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers should feel more confident about the next opponent on their 10-game road trip, as they try and continue their recent success against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Chase Field.
Milwaukee, which is 3-4 so far on the swing, has won four straight meetings against the D'Backs, including a three-game sweep in Phoenix from September 11-13 of last season. The Brewers are 15-6 in their last 21 encounters with Arizona, going 7-3 in The Valley of the Sun over that time.
The Brewers were aiming for a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday at Chavez Ravine, but dropped a 7-3 decision after reliever LaTroy Hawkins surrendered a game-winning grand slam to Andre Ethier in the bottom of the ninth inning. Hawkins fell to 0-3 this season and starter Dave Bush gave up three runs -- one earned -- and four hits in five innings.
"[Hawkins] threw me a fastball right down the middle," Ethier said. "I just put an easy swing on it and it just kept going,"
Gregg Zaun had two hits and two RBI and Craig Counsell drove in a run for the Brewers, who hope that starter Yovani Gallardo can win his fourth straight start when he takes the hill Friday. Gallardo opened the season 0-2 with a 5.50 ERA in his first three starts, but is 3-0 with a 0.50 earned run average in his past three outings.
He got the streak going with five shutout innings in a win at Pittsburgh on April 21, then gave up just two unearned runs through six frames versus the Pirates five days later. Gallardo then won at San Diego on Saturday, when he held the Padres to a run over seven innings.
The right-hander will try to stay unbeaten against Arizona and is 2-0 in two starts versus the Diamondbacks, having thrown 12 shutout innings over that span.
Arizona is back at home after going 5-5 on a 10-game road trip. It just won three of four games at Houston and recorded a 6-3 victory last night behind Dan Haren's 10th career complete game. Haren went the distance for the first time this season and limited the Astros to three runs -- two earned -- and seven hits with nine strikeouts.
"The team needed it," Haren said on the Diamondbacks' site. "I needed it."
Tony Abreu finished with a career-best four hits and knocked in a run, while Kelly Johnson homered for the 10th time this season for the D'Backs, who will also welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games on the homestand.
Edwin Jackson's first season in Arizona hasn't gone as planned, and he'll try to bounce back from two rough outings tonight. After throwing six shutout innings in a no-decision at San Diego on April 16, Jackson has gone 0-2 with a 13.82 earned run average in his last three outings.
Jackson has dropped two starts in a row and was reached for eight runs and 11 hits in four innings of a 10-5 loss at the Cubs on Sunday. The right-hander has given up 18 total runs and 22 hits in his last two trips to the hill.
Jackson has faced Milwaukee just once in his career, allowing one run in five innings of a 5-2 victory on June 2, 2004.
<< Rays try to stay perfect vs. AL West in opener at Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not many teams have been able to beat the Rays this year.
That holds especially true for the teams out west.
The Oakland Athletics, winners of two straight, will try to become the first
American League West team to d
<< Baltimore's Millwood seeks first win against Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore's Kevin Millwood has pitched well this season,
but doesn't have a win yet to show for it. That elusive first victory won't
come easy tonight given the opponent.
Millwood seeks the first victory of his caree
<< White Sox lefty Buehrle takes mound vs. Jays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto's Shaun Marcum picked up his first victory since
2008 in his last trip to the hill. The way Chicago's Mark Buehrle has pitched
as of late, it seems like that long since he last won.
Buehrle will try to halt a f
<< Giants aim to slay another NL East foe in Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- Performing well against the National League East has
helped the San Francisco Giants to the one of the top records in baseball at
the moment. The current NL West leaders will attempt to maintain that level of
success when th
Angels, Mariners to square off in battle of reeling clubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of slumping American League West rivals get together
tonight in the Emerald City, where the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim collide in the opener of a three-game series at Safeco Field.
The Marine
Dodgers to host Rockies in key divisional set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier will bring his
Triple Crown numbers and late-game heroics into Friday's opener of a three-
game series versus the NL West-rival Colorado Rockies at Chavez Ravine.
Ethier was at i
Aussie great Newcombe has skin cancer surgery >>
Sydney, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 John Newcombe
underwent surgery to have a cancerous growth removed from the right side of
his nose.
"It's a cancerous growth so he (the doctor) had to cut...and finish
UConn's Calhoun receives five-year extension >>
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Connecticut handed longtime
men's head basketball coach Jim Calhoun a five-year contract extension running
through the 2014 season on Friday.
The deal is effective retroactively from July
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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