Tigers welcome return home to take on Rangers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers are certainly happy to be heading home. They may be even happier to see the Texas Rangers as they kick off a three- game series with the American League West leaders this evening at Comerica Park.

Texas has dropped 11 straight in Detroit, which is a club record for consecutive road losses to a particular team.

Detroit, though, was swept in a four-game set by the woeful Cleveland Indians over the weekend, falling 7-2 in Sunday's finale at Progressive Field. Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera each drove in a run for the Tigers, who have lost five straight following a five-game win streak.

"If you're not playing good -- no matter what place you're in, no matter what place the team you're playing is in -- you're going to get beat," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said after Sunday's loss.

Detroit starter Andrew Oliver (0-4) couldn't match fellow rookie Jeanmar Gomez, giving up five runs on four hits and five walks in 3 2/3 innings.

The road continues to be a problem for the Tigers, who sit 1 1/2 games back of the Chicago White Sox for the top spot in the AL Central, as they have now dropped 10 of their last 13 away from home. Conversely, Detroit has won five of its last six at Comerica, where it has won seven straight series and is 32-13 on the year.

The Tigers turn tonight to righty Jeremy Bonderman, who is 5-6 with a 4.79 earned run average. Bonderman picked up the win in his last start on July 10 against Minnesota, which managed three runs and four hits in six innings.

Bonderman is 2-1 with a 4.93 ERA in seven starts against the Rangers.

Texas, meanwhile, headed into the All-Star break with four straight home losses to the Baltimore Orioles. However, the rest seemed to have done the Rangers some good, as they took three of four from the Boston Red Sox over the weekend to win their first four-game series at Fenway Park in 15 years.

The Rangers sealed the series win on Sunday, as C.J. Wilson struck out a career-high 10 in 6 2/3 effective innings to help Texas to a 4-2 victory. Wilson (8-5) allowed just one run on three hits and five walks to earn only his second road win of the season, although both have come in Boston.

Elvis Andrus had three hits and scored a run while Nelson Cruz went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for the Rangers, who last won a four-game series at Fenway from July 13-16, 1995. Texas has now won 14 of its past 19 away from home.

"We're trying to win series," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "It's hard to come up here and do what we did this weekend. I don't care how many guys [the Red Sox] are missing, those guys know how to play baseball and still have some guys in the lineup that can do some damage. But we never backed down. We still played our game."

Tonight Scott Feldman heads to the hill as the Texas right-hander tries to win for the first time in five starts. Feldman, who is 5-8 with a 5.32 ERA on the season, did not get a decision the last time he toed the rubber back on July 9, as he allowed two runs and eight hits in seven innings of his team's 7-6 loss to Baltimore.

Feldman lost to the Tigers back on April 24 and is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in eight games (three starts) against them.

Detroit has split four matchups with the Rangers this season after taking seven of the nine meetings a year ago.

Cvssportsline Baseball Betting News

<< Tough week for Yanks ends with a win and major loss
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Yankees organization suffered some big losses off the field last week with the passing of principal owner George Steinbrenner and long-time public address announcer Bob Sheppard, but it was the loss of a pitc

<< Pitt's Sheard charged with assault, suspended
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Pitt defensive end Jabaal Sheard has been suspended indefinitely after being accused of throwing another man through the glass door of an art gallery.Police say Sheard was in a fight early Sunday and had to be pepper sprayed after h

<< Johnson adds Mitchell, Krystkowiak to Nets' staff
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -Avery Johnson has named his new coaching staff with the New Jersey Nets.The staff announced by the Nets on Monday includes two former NBA head coaches - Toronto's Sam Mitchell and Milwaukee Larry Krystkowiak.Also named to

<< Cubs batter Halladay, Phillies bullpen
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto each hit a two-run homer off Roy Halladay, as the Chicago Cubs routed the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-6, in the finale of a four-game series. Derrek Lee added a three-run

<< Galaxy downs D.C. to extend Western Conference lead
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Landon Donovan helped the Los Angeles Galaxy secure a 2-1 win at RFK Stadium on Sunday over D.C. United as he converted a penalty kick in the 58th minute. Edson Buddle had the Galaxy ahead a

Rays try to get back on track in Baltimore >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wade Davis could be pitching for his spot in the rotation when the Tampa Bay Rays open a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles this evening at Camden Yards. Davis struggled in the first half, going 6-9 with a 4.6

Surging Blue Jays to face sliding Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays try to make it four straight wins when they open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals this evening at Kauffman Stadium. The Jays battered the woeful Baltimore Orioles this past weekend,

Kennison retires as a Chief >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time Kansas City wide receiver Eddie Kennison signed a contract Monday to announce his retirement as a member of the Chiefs. Kennison spent seven of his 13 NFL seasons with the Chiefs, catch

AL Central-leading White Sox continue trip in Seattle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox ended the season's first half as the hottest team in baseball, but things haven't gotten so smoothly since the club returned from the All-Star break. The American League Central leaders will try to

Red Sox limp into Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Boston Red Sox continue to lose ground in the American League playoff chase, the Oakland Athletics are doing their best to stay in the hunt. The resurgent Athletics try to extend their season-best winning streak

It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

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

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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