LA, San Fran go at it again by the Bay

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers are sticking around in the playoff picture. The club will try to stay on the winning track and in the hunt tonight when they open a three-game set with the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

The Dodgers have won four of their last five games, including a dramatic 7-4 victory on Thursday over the Cubs. The Dodgers plated four runs in the top of the ninth inning with Andre Ethier smacking a three-run, pinch-hit homer. The club also plated a run on a wild pitch in the frame.

Takashi Saito retired the Cubs in order in the home half of the ninth for his 37th save of the year. Joe Beimel (4-1) earned the win, throwing 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball after starter Derek Lowe went six-plus innings. Lowe allowed three runs on five hits with five walks and five strikeouts.

James Loney and Matt Kemp also homered for the Dodgers, who are within 3 1/2 games of National League West-leading Arizona. LA is also 2 1/2 games back of San Diego in the wild card picture.

Chad Billingsley has won his last three starts and will toe the rubber for the Dodgers tonight. He bested the Padres on Sunday behind seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits with nine strikeouts to improve to 10-4 with a 3.30 earned run average this year.

Billingsley has two road wins during his streak and is 11-4 in his career away from Dodger Stadium.

The right-hander is 2-0 with a 4.40 ERA in four career games (two starts) against the Giants. He bested the club with six scoreless innings on July 13.

The Giants, meanwhile, halted a four-game losing streak on Wednesday, as Barry Bonds hit the 762nd home run of his career to lift his club over the Rockies, 5-3. Pedro Feliz had three hits -- including a home run and a triple -- and Bengie Molina also added a solo shot in the win.

Kevin Correia (4-6) allowed just one run and four hits, did not walk a batter and fanned four over six innings.

Jonathan Sanchez will make his second start of the season for the Giants. After 29 relief outings, Sanchez started on Saturday against Washington and allowed three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings of a loss, falling to 1-3 with a 5.27 ERA this year.

The left-hander has faced the Dodgers three times out of the bullpen in his career and has allowed one run over 2 2/3 total innings.

Sanchez will also attempt to halt the Giants' 11-game home losing streak to the Dodgers. LA is 6-0 against San Francisco at AT&T Park this year and hasn't lost to the club on the road since August 18 of last season.

The Dodgers are 20-11 versus the Giants over the last two seasons.

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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.

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