Gordon long ball in ninth leads Royals over Orioles

Baseball Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gordon hit a game-winning three-run homer with two outs in the ninth, and the Kansas City Royals put together a fierce rally to stun the Baltimore Orioles, 7-5, in the second of four games at Kauffman Stadium.

Alfredo Simon (2-2) came on to protect Baltimore's one-run lead in the ninth, but couldn't convert the save opportunity.

The first two Kansas City batters were quickly retired, but Rick Ankiel kept the game alive with a walk. Wilson Betemit followed with a single through the infield's right side to put runners on the corners, and Gordon ended the game by belting a Simon offering well over the wall in right field.

The homer made a winner of Blake Wood (1-2), who pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

It was Gordon's first career game-ending home run. The once highly touted third baseman was playing in just his seventh game since being recalled earlier this month. He was converted to an outfielder in the minor leagues and hit just his second home run of the season in 19 games.

Betemit finished with three hits and two RBI, while Ankiel reached base three times, drove in a run and scored twice, as the Royals snapped a five-game losing streak.

Ty Wigginton had three hits and drove in two for the Orioles, who have lost six of seven. Nick Markakis added two hits and three runs scored in defeat.

The Royals grabbed the early lead, scoring three runs in the first with two away.

With runners on second and third following a Jose Guillen fly out, Ankiel plated one with a double, and Betemit brought in two more with a base hit to right.

The Orioles managed to tie the game with single runs in three separate innings.

Felix Pie's sacrifice fly in the second got Baltimore on the board, and Markakis singled with two down in the third and scored on Wigginton's double for a one-run game.

In the sixth, Markakis led off with a walk, moved to third on Wigginton's single and scored on Luke Scott's sacrifice fly for a 3-3 score.

Yuniesky Betancourt led off the home half of the inning against Jason Berken and singled to right. Mitch Maier stepped up and doubled in the runner for a 4-3 KC lead, although the hosts couldn't push Maier across to increase the advantage.

The Orioles went ahead with two runs in the eighth.

With Kyle Farnsworth on the mound, Markakis led off with a single and quickly came around to score on Wigginton's double. Luke Scott followed with another base hit to send Wigginton to third, and Wigginton scored on the next play when Betemit committed a fielding error.

Game Notes

Home plate umpire and crew chief Wally Bell exited the game in the sixth inning with heat exhaustion and dehydration. He was replaced behind the plate by second base umpire Todd Tichenor...The Orioles went 1- for-10 with runners in scoring position and are 2-for-35 in such situations in the last five games...The season series is tied, 2-2.

Wwwgoactive Baseball Betting News


<< Prado leaves Friday's game
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves second baseman Martin Prado left Friday's game against Cincinnati with an undisclosed injury. Prado slid somewhat awkwardly headfirst into home plate on Jayson Heyward's game-winning two-

<< Twins remain hot, sink Mariners
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Thome and Alexi Casilla both clubbed a two-run homer, as the streaking Minnesota Twins beat Seattle, 5-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Target Field. J.J. Hardy had two hits and score

<< Peralta homers twice in Tigers debut; Detroit tops Boston
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jhonny Peralta hit a pair of homers and drove in three in his Tigers debut, as Detroit held on against Boston's furious ninth- inning rally for a 6-5 decision in the first of three between the clubs at Fenway

<< Harrell wins MLB debut as White Sox extend home win streak
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gordon Beckham had two hits and drove in two runs to support six solid innings from Lucas Harrell in his major league debut as Chicago downed Oakland, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game set. Harrell (1-0),

<< Atlanta's Heyward comes through in extras in Cincy
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jayson Heyward delivered the game-winning two-run double in the 10th inning as Atlanta upended Cincinnati, 6-4, in the first of a three-game set. Brian McCann homered and Chipper Jones added two hits,

Record-breaking inning propels Rockies to rout of Cubs >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez went 4-for-6 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI, as Colorado scored 12 times with two outs in a franchise record-breaking eighth inning to pull away from Chicago, 17-2, in the ope

Edmonton gets by BC for first win of season >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Ray threw for 360 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and the Edmonton Eskimos outlasted the British Columbia Lions, 28-25, at Commonwealth Stadium in Alberta. Ray completed 25-of-34 pass attempts

Langer up two at Senior Open >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bernhard Langer continued his hot play Friday as he carded a two-under 68 to grab a two-stroke lead after the second round of the U.S. Senior Open. Langer, who is coming off a win last week at the S

Murray into semis in LA >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray took a first-set tiebreaker against Alejandro Falla of Colombia and took control from there for a straight victory in the quarterfinals at the $700,000 Farmers Classic tennis event. The top

Marlins beat Padres to begin weekend series >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gaby Sanchez and Cody Ross homered to lead the Florida Marlins past the San Diego Padres, 4-2, in the opener of a three- game series. Hanley Ramirez and Logan Morrison each drove in a run for the Marl

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.

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards