Bucs attempt to extend White Sox' road misery

Baseball Betting Lines

06/16/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox will try to snap a six-game road losing streak when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight in the second contest of a three-game interleague series at PNC Park.

The White Sox, who haven't dropped seven consecutive road games in more than six years, were outlasted by the Pirates last night by a 4-2 score in the series opener.

Paul Maholm (3-9) picked up the win for Pittsburgh by allowing just one run on three hits over seven strong innings. He struck out six while snapping a personal five-decision losing streak in the process.

Jose Bautista and Xavier Nady each went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Jack Wilson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored for the Pirates, who have won three of their last four games.

A.J. Pierzynski went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored for the White Sox, who have dropped four straight and nine of their last 10 overall games. Chicago, which is a troubling 13-20 on the road this season, has not lost seven in a row away from home since an eight-game slide from May 15-23, 2001.

Sox starter Jon Garland (4-4) was handed the loss, as he gave up four runs on 11 hits in six innings.

Mark Buehrle will try to get the White Sox back on track when he gets the start tonight. The crafty left-hander earned the 100th victory of his career on Sunday, yielding just on earned runs and six hits over eight innings of a 6-3 triumph against Houston. He had been stuck on 99 career victories since defeating Kansas City on April 23rd, a span of seven starts.

Buehrle has fared well in interleague play since the start of the 2005 season, going 5-1 with a 3.03 ERA in eight starts against National League.

In his lone career start against Pittsburgh, the veteran gave up two earned runs in seven innings of a 4-2 triumph last season.

Taking the hill for the Pirates will be John Van Benschoten, who is set to make his first major league start in almost three years. The 2001 first-round draft pick is taking the spot of Shawn Chacon, who was recently moved to the bullpen.

The right-hander has spent most of his time rehabbing from operations on both shoulders since going 1-3 with a 6.91 ERA in six games (five starts) for Pittsburgh in 2004.

Van Benschoten, who has never faced the White Sox in his short major league career, was 6-4 with a 2.73 ERA in 12 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis before getting called up.

Friday's matchup between the White Sox and Pirates was the first of the 2007 season between the clubs. Chicago won two of three games against Pittsburgh at PNC Park in 2006.

The White Sox are 102-83 all-time against the National League, while the Pirates own a 55-88 record in interleague play.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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 this sportsbook “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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