Tigers hope to build a win streak versus Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After finally putting an end to their worst skid of the season, the Detroit Tigers will turn to their ace pitcher in hopes of starting a winning streak in this afternoon's opener of a four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays from Comerica Park.

Detroit lost its final game prior to the All-Star break and six straight contests to begin the second half before coming through with a victory over American League West-leading Texas last night. Max Scherzer got the Tigers off the schneid by throwing seven shutout innings, while one-time Ranger Gerald Laird belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to help stake his team to a much-needed 4-1 win.

Laird finished 2-for-4 and gave Detroit an early 2-0 advantage with a blast off Texas starter Colby Lewis in his first at-bat. That was all Scherzer (7-7) would need, as the former first-round pick limited the Rangers to four hits and struck out five in a determined performance.

"I came in with the mentality that I was gonna end this seven-game losing streak," said Scherzer. "It's been bad, starting off since the All-Star break. For me to go out there and put up seven zeroes was a serious matter."

Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera also knocked in runs for the Tigers, who closed within 2 1/2 games of first-place Chicago in the AL Central standings, while Austin Jackson contributed three hits and a run scored to the winning effort.

Detroit could get a similar strong showing on the hill this afternoon, considering the way Justin Verlander has pitched as of late. The All-Star hurler has won three straight and six of his last seven decisions to run his 2010 record to 11-5 in 19 starts.

Verlander's three-start win streak did come to an end when he was reached for three runs in a six-inning no-decision at Cleveland on Saturday, but the hard- throwing righty did register nine strikeouts and did not allow a home run for the fifth consecutive outing.

Most of Verlander's recent success has come at Comerica Park, where he's won in each of his last four assignments and sports a 6-2 record with a 2.70 earned run average in nine starts this season. The 27-year-old has not fared well when facing the Blue Jays in the past, however. In three prior meetings with Toronto, Verlander is 0-2 and been roughed up for 19 runs and 25 hits over a span of 15 innings.

The Blue Jays should present a challenge for the Tigers' No. 1 starter. After all, Toronto does overwhelmingly lead the majors with 143 home runs and had gone deep in 13 straight games before failing to do so in yesterday's 5-2 loss at Kansas City. Outfielder Jose Bautista presently tops all of baseball with 26 individual homers, two more than the Tigers' Cabrera.

Toronto's powerful offense was held in check by the Royals' Zack Greinke on Wednesday, however, as the Jays mustered just a pair of runs and six hits in the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner's eight innings of work.

"He pounds the zone and he locates so well with his fastball," Toronto's Aaron Hill said of Greinke. "If he could get ahead with his fastball, you never know what's coming next. It's what has always has made him good."

Vernon Wells did finish 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Jays, while Adam Lind singled in the ninth inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. The designated hitter is batting .293 (17-for-58) with four homers during that sequence.

Toronto lost two of three bouts in its series with the Royals, but is 4-2 thus far on a 10-game road trip that continues tonight.

The Blue Jays will send out one of their top pitchers as well for tonight's clash, with Ricky Romero aiming to build off a terrific first appearance following the break. The talented left-hander held Baltimore to two unearned runs and five hits over seven innings in a 4-2 victory this past Friday, snapping a string of three straight losing starts in the process.

Romero had been lousy in each of his final two mound trips of the first half. The 25-year-old was battered for eight runs and seven hits by the New York Yankees in a forgettable 2 2/3-inning stint on July 3, then lasted only 2 1/3 frames while surrendering nine runs (five earned) in a loss to fellow AL Central member Boston six days later.

A 13-game winner as a rookie in 2009, Romero opposed the Tigers twice last season and went 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. The defeat took place at Comerica Park in September, when he was touched for four runs and 10 hits in six innings.

Toronto did prevail in five of eight matchups against the Tigers in 2009, with the clubs splitting a four-game set in the Motor City from September 11-14.

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Betting the NFL preseason

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

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