Giants, Marlins ready for clash between scorching teams

Baseball Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the hottest teams in baseball square off this evening when the San Francisco Giants welcome the Florida Marlins to town for the start of a four-game series at AT&T Park.

San Francisco has won four straight and 14 of its last 17 to move within three games of the San Diego Padres in the National League West while claiming the Wild Card lead, 1 1/2 games in front of Cincinnati.

Rookie Buster Posey has been the fuel behind the Giants' recent surge, as he enters tonight's tilt riding an 18-game hitting streak, the second-longest in team history behind Willie McCovey's 22-gamer.

Posey continued to roll on Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI in the Giants' 3-2, 10-inning win over Arizona to complete a four-game sweep. He also needs one more RBI to move past Jim Ray Hart, who set a team rookie record with 24 RBI in one month in 1964.

"I'm seeing the ball well. That's my approach, try to see the ball and get the barrel on it. Keep it simple," a humble Posey said.

San Francisco may be able to keep rolling tonight, as scheduled starter Barry Zito is a perfect 5-0 lifetime against the Marlins. He beat them earlier in the year by allowing one run in seven innings and has pitched to a 2.15 earned run average in his six starts against Florida.

Zito, who is 8-5 with a 3.45 ERA, suffered a hard-luck loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, as he allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings of the 2-0 setback.

Florida, meanwhile, sliced into Atlanta's lead in the National League East this weekend by taking two of three from the Braves and has won seven of its last nine to get back to .500. In Sunday's rubber match, Wes Helms hit a run- scoring single in the bottom of the 11th inning, lifting the Marlins to a 5-4 win.

Helms ended with two hits, three RBI, and a run scored for the Marlins, who have not been over .500 since they were 28-27 on June 3.

Chris Volstad, who was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans prior to the game, lasted six frames for Florida in the start, allowing three runs on five hits. Jorge Sosa (2-2) pitched a scoreless two innings of relief to record the win.

Getting the call for the Marlins tonight will be righty Ricky Nolasco, who is 10-7 with a 4.50 ERA. Nolasco improved to 5-1 over his last six starts with a win over Colorado on Wednesday. He gave up two runs and four hits in eight innings of that one, as he moved past A.J. Burnett for second all-time in franchise history with 50 wins.

Nolasco is just 1-2 in three starts against the Giants, despite a 2.05 ERA.

San Francisco swept a three-game set from the Marlins earlier in the year and has won five of the last six meetings in the series.

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Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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