Rays hope to end epic winless drought in Cleveland

Baseball Betting Lines

07/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trying to remain in the hunt for first place in the American League East, one would think the Tampa Bay Rays would welcome a trip to Cleveland to face the last-place Indians.

Problem is, Tampa Bay hasn't won in 17 straight games at Cleveland's Progressive Field, and the Indians are also expected to get another starter back from the disabled list in time for tonight's opener of a three-game series.

The Rays currently lead the AL Wild Card race and are just three games back of the first-place Yankees in the division. They have also won five of six versus the Indians this year, but all six of those meetings took place at home.

Tonight Tampa will try to record its first victory in Cleveland since Sept. 28, 2005. The 17-game slide there is the longest in one ballpark in club history, and the Rays have been outscored 107-47 over the losing streak.

Also not helping the Rays' cause is the expected return tonight of Shin-Soo Choo to the Indians' lineup from a sprained right thumb that has sidelined him since July 2. Choo leads Cleveland with a .286 average and 13 homers and is also tied for the club lead with 43 RBI.

He is the second starter to come back from injury this week for Cleveland, which saw the return of Asdrubal Cabrera from a right forearm fracture on Tuesday.

The Indians aren't likely to be intimidated by the Rays' MLB-leading 31-17 road record, as Cleveland has lost just once since the All-Star break. The club won its first six games after the hiatus, sweeping the Tigers in four games and winning the first two contests against the Twins before Wednesday's 6-0 setback.

Jake Westbrook took the loss after allowing four runs, six hits and five walks over six innings, while Indians rookie catcher Carlos Santana went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to halt his string of reaching base safely at 15 games.

"We won the series on the road, which is always a good accomplishment," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "The way we have played the last week or so -- we have to be encouraged by how things are going."

The Indians will try to stay hot behind Fausto Carmona, who has won two straight and five of his last seven starts. The right-hander has yielded more than three earned runs just once in his previous nine outings and is coming off Saturday's win over the Tigers. Carmona held Detroit to three runs while working around six hits and six walks over seven-plus innings of work.

The 26-year-old is 9-7 with a 3.65 earned run average this year and bested the Rays on July 9 after giving up two runs on five hits and four walks over 6 2/3 innings. Carmona improved to 3-1 with a 5.52 ERA lifetime versus Tampa Bay with that outing.

The Rays counter with right-hander Jeff Niemann, who is 8-2 with a 2.92 ERA and puts a perfect 5-0 mark in nine road starts this year on the line.

Niemann, though, has never beaten the Indians, having gone 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against them. He lasted just five innings versus them on July 11, allowing three runs in a no-decision.

The 27-year-old fourth overall pick of the 2004 draft also struggled in his first start after the All-Star break, yielding four runs on six hits and four walks over 6 1/3 innings on Saturday versus the Yankees. He still took a 10-5 victory and is 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA over four starts since a loss on June 25.

The Rays visit the third and final city on their current nine-game road trip after splitting the first six games in New York and Baltimore. They took two of three over the Orioles after winning Wednesday's rubber match, 5-4.

Evan Longoria homered in the victory and also forced home the go-ahead run when he drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning. That got James Shields the win even though he gave up four runs on eight hits over 6 1/3 innings.

"[Wednesday] was a tough day to pitch. It seemed like it was 120 degrees out there," Shields said. "We played really good defense."

Tampa Bay was without Carl Crawford on Wednesday due to a testicular contusion suffered the previous day, when he was struck in the groin by the ball during a pickoff attempt. He could return to action tonight, however.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

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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