Giants resume playoff quest in Arizona

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants are still fighting for the top spot in the National League West Division. An upcoming four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks could help with that quest.

The Giants, who are four games behind the NL West-leading San Diego Padres, will kick off a four-game set tonight in Phoenix and will try to rebound from last night's 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Barry Zito suffered the hard-luck loss in the finale of a three-game set at Chavez Ravine and was reached for both runs and six hits over 7 1/3 innings.

"I didn't have it the first three innings," Zito said. "Giving up the homer to [Casey] Blake was frustrating. I settled down after that."

Freddy Sanchez had two of San Francisco's five hits and Buster Posey extended his career-high hitting streak to 15 games after going 1-for-4.

The Giants have still won 11 of their last 14 games, but need to work on their 11-21 ledger against division opponents.

Streaky Giants starter Matt Cain will handle pitching duties for the 20th time this season tonight and is just 7-8 with a 3.30 earned run average in 19 starts. After winning four straight starts over a month ago, Cain fell into a slump and went 0-4 with a 7.45 ERA in five starts from June 19-July 9.

Cain, however, bounced back in Saturday's 8-4 triumph over the visiting New York Mets by tossing seven innings of one-run ball and allowing four hits.

The right-hander is only 2-5 in 10 road starts this season, but shut out Arizona the last time he faced them on May 28. He went the distance in that game, which took place in San Francisco, and yielded one hit with nine strikeouts in improving to 5-4 with a 3.49 ERA in 15 career starts versus the D-Backs.

Cain owns two shutouts and three complete games this season.

Arizona enters this series with some added confidence after sweeping the visiting Mets in three games at Chase Field. It entered the series having lost four in a row, but bounced back in a huge way with a 13-2 win in the opener of the set. The D'Backs then won by a 3-2 score on Tuesday and are coming off last night's 4-3 victory in 14 innings.

Pinch-hitter Chris Snyder singled home Justin Upton for the game-winning run in the 14th frame, while Rusty Ryal ended 4-for-5 with a home run. Chris Young and Mark Reynolds also went deep for Arizona, which got three hits and a run scored from Upton.

Dan Haren started for Arizona and gave up three runs and six hits with eight strikeouts in six innings for the no-decision. The D'Backs had lost each of Haren's last six starts. Blaine Boyer got the win with two scoreless innings of relief.

"He threw well, but unfortunately we got into a deadlock there," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said of Haren. "He went as far as I would let him go."

The Diamondbacks, who are last in the NL West, will hand the ball to Rodrigo Lopez tonight, and he is 3-2 with a 4.40 ERA in his last five starts. He lost his most recent mound appearance in an 8-5 decision at San Diego on Saturday, as he permitted six runs and six hits over six innings.

Lopez, who has given up a total of 11 runs over his last three starts, fell to 5-8 with a 4.62 ERA in 19 total trips to the mound this season. He is 3-4 in 10 home starts and will face San Francisco for the second time in 2010. Lopez was reached for six runs and 10 hits in five innings of an 8-7 loss to the Giants back on May 20 and is 0-1 in three career starts versus San Francisco.

San Francisco leads the 2010 season series with Arizona by a slim 3-2 margin, but is 16-7 over the past 23 meetings between the two ballclubs.

Wwwraceo Baseball Betting News

<< Cardinals go for ninth win in a row, sweep of slumping Phils
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright will try to become just the second 15-game winner in the major leagues and remain unbeaten at home when he attempts to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to their ninth straight win and a four-game sweep of the Phil

<< Golf Hall of Fame ceremony moves to spring
St. Augustine, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The induction ceremony for the World Golf Hall of Fame has been moved to a spring date. Previously held in the fall, it will take place on Monday, May 9, 2011, which is the same week as The Players Champ

<< CC seeks ninth straight win as Yankees open set with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia has been nearly unbeatable for the New York Yankees over the past two months. With a matchup against the Kansas City Royals next on tap for the All-Star hurler, that string of success doesn't figure to change.

<< Rangers turn to Lee for opener of key set with Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Texas Rangers acquired Cliff Lee to help end the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's reign of dominance in the American League West. The All-Star hurler gets his first crack at the three-time defending division champions sin

<< Pirates, red-hot Alvarez close out set vs. Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Led by Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh's offense has exploded since the All-Star break. Seems that Milwaukee ace Yovani Gallardo is coming back at just the right time. Gallardo is set to make his first start in nearly th

Slumping Red Sox hoping to right ship in Seattle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox need to get some momentum going on this current road trip and hope that an upcoming four-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field will do the trick. Boston will visit the Emerald City ton

Reeling Mets continue West Coast tour with stop in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Citi Field must feel many moons away for the New York Mets, who will continue their disappointing road trip tonight with the first of four straight games against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. New York was just

Minnesota Vikings 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 30th SITE: Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN CAMP OBJECTIVES: All other stories in Vikings camp figure to be overshadowed by the Brett Favre drama, which is exactly the way the venerable 40-yea

Seattle Seahawks 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATES: July 29th (Rookies), July 30th (Veterans) SITE: Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Renton, WA CAMP OBJECTIVES: The first training camp of the Pete Carroll era in Seattle will have to follow an aggressive ag

New Orleans Saints 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 29th SITE: Saints Training Facility, Metairie, LA CAMP OBJECTIVES: The defending Super Bowl champs have very few pressing questions on the offensive side of the ball, with the work of soon-to-be acq

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

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