NBA, MLB, NHL Stat Check

May 23 2009 @ 08:43

We hope the Memorial Day weekend treats you right. To help you get there, we present another 10-spot of betting stats and factoids worth contemplating for Saturday and Sunday. We start with the special brand of mayhem served up by this year's NBA playoffs.

NBA

Saturday: L.A. Lakers at Denver, Game 3

The Lakers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games after dropping the cash, which they did in Thursday's Game 2 defeat to the Nuggets (+5.5). Los Angeles has yet to string together more than two ATS wins or losses during the playoffs.

Sunday: Cleveland at Orlando, Game 3

The Magic are 20-9 ATS in their last 29 games against teams at .600 or over. That includes their seven-game series with the Boston Celtics at 4-3 ATS, and four straight paydays against the Cavaliers dating back to January.

NHL

Saturday: Pittsburgh at Carolina, Game 3

The Penguins have scored at least three goals in each of their last eight games. Pittsburgh is 6-2 in those games; so is the over. The seven goals Pittsburgh scored in Thursday's Game 2 were the most the Hurricanes have allowed in a playoff game since 1992, when they were the Hartford Whalers.

Sunday: Detroit at Chicago, Game 4

The under is 9-3 in Chicago's last 12 home games. Six of those were playoff games with the under at 4-2, although Nikolai Khabibulin is having some issues with an .899 save percentage, down from .919 during the regular season.

MLB

Saturday: Kansas City at St. Louis

Royals starter Luke Hochevar won the 2005 Roger Clemens Award as the best pitcher in college baseball. The former Tennessee Volunteer was drafted three times, eventually signing with the Royals and posting a 5.63 ERA in 28 career appearances, 25 of them starts. Hochevar has allowed 10 runs in 5.1 innings of work this year.

Saturday: N.Y. Mets at Boston

Boston is 26-5 in its last 31 games versus teams from the National League East Division. The Red Sox swept all three games at Fenway Park when the two teams met in 2006. None of the three starting pitchers for New York (Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Alay Soler) are with the Mets in 2009.

Saturday: Tampa Bay at Florida

The Marlins are 3-15 in their last 18 games against a right-handed pitcher. Saturday's projected starter for Tampa Bay is Jeff Niemann, a rookie northpaw from Houston with a 4.97 ERA and 2.59 units in earnings.

Sunday: Philadelphia at N.Y. Yankees

The over is 14-4-1 in Philadelphia's 19 road games this year. The Phillies have one of the worst team ERA's in the majors at 5.33. The Yankees aren't much better at 5.15 ERA, but they do lead both leagues in team OPS at .831.

Sunday: L.A. Angels at L.A. Dodgers

Angels hurler Matt Palmer is the leading money winner among MLB starting pitchers with 7.07 units after leading the Angels to five wins in five starts. Palmer got some help from his offense, who outscored the opposition 36-19 in those five games.

Sunday: Milwaukee at Minnesota

Scott Baker has one quality start in seven games for the Twins. Minnesota lost five of those games for a deficit of 3.89 units; Baker has a 6.98 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP and has allowed 10 home runs thus far. He was on the DL in April with a sore right shoulder.

Get the most updated lines at Bodog Sports today!

By: Achkarian @ 08:43 | Category: Misc  | Comments: 0 | Permalink

MLB Weekend Top 10

May 14 2009 @ 20:53

MLB Weekend Top 10

Nolan Ryan holds a number of MLB strikeout records, but the most impressive: 215 career games with at least 10 strikeouts. Sandy Koufax is second on the list with 97, although he only played 12 seasons to Ryan's 27. This weekend's collection of baseball's Top 10 goes out to both men. All stats were at press time; for the latest odds, visit Bodog Sports.

Top 10 paying teams this month

1. Toronto Blue Jays (23-13, 9.28 units)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (23-12, 8.99 units)
3. Cincinnati Reds (20-14 SU, 8.65 units)
4. Texas Rangers (19-14 SU, 6.96 units)
5. Milwaukee Brewers (20-14 SU, 5.87 units)
6. Boston Red Sox (21-13 SU, 4.85 units)
7. Kansas City Royals (18-16, 3.86 units)
8. St. Louis Cardinals (20-14 SU, 3.84 units)
9. Los Angeles Angels (17-15 SU, 3.71 units)
10. San Francisco Giants (18-15 SU, 2.97 units)

Top 10 paying pitchers this month

1. Matt Palmer, L.A. Angels (4-0 team record, 5.67 units)
2. Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox (6-1, 5.52 units)
3. Josh Johnson, Florida (6-1, 5.51 units)
4. Zack Greinke, Kansas City (6-1, 5.06 units)
5. Roy Halladay, Toronto (7-1, 4.90 units)
6. Brian Bannister, Kansas City (4-1, 4.24 units)
7. Eric Stults, L.A. Dodgers (5-1, 4.21 units)
8. Chad Billingsley, L.A. Dodgers (6-1, 4.09 units)
9. Bronson Arroyo, Cincinnati (5-2, 3.89 units)
10. Shairon Martis, Washington (5-2, 3.86 units)

This weekend's top 10 storylines

1. Angels ace John Lackey expected back this weekend
2. Cardinals cleanup hitter Ryan Ludwick goes on 15-day DL
3. Red Sox put Kevin Youkilis on DL; Jeff Bailey starting at first base
4. Ronny Cedeno starts over Yuniesky Betancourt as Mariners shortstop
5. Scott Downs to continue closing for Toronto with B.J. Ryan setting up
6. Carols Delgado (hip) expected to go on Mets DL as soon as Friday
7. Tampa Bay OF Carl Crawford day-to-day with bruised right shoulder
8. Dustin Pedroia (groin) due back for Boston on Thursday
9. Orioles OF Adam Jones aggravates hamstring injury; listed as day-to-day
10. Nomar Garciaparra eligible to join A’s lineup Friday; more likely to play Monday

This weekend's top 10 games to bet on

1. Sunday: N.Y. Mets at San Francisco (8:00 p.m. Eastern, ESPN)

ESPN's top broadcast makes a visit to McCovey Cove, where Matt Cain (4-3, 0.05 units) will get the start for the Giants against Mike Pelfrey (5-1, 2.92 units). Cain has a 3.00 ERA to Pelfrey’s 4.89, but San Fran's bullpen has blown four of his leads.

2. Saturday: Boston at Seattle (10:10 p.m.)

The Mariners have lost eight of nine to fall back below .500 at 16-18 (minus-2.72 units). Boston has won six of nine, but this should be a competitive game with Josh Beckett (5-2, 2.47 units) matched up against Erik Bedard (3-4, minus-2.18 units), another victim of poor relief.

3. Saturday: L.A. Angels at Texas (4:10 p.m., FOX)

This is slated to be the first start of the season for John Lackey (15-9, 2.85 units last year) after missing six weeks with a strained forearm. His first assignment is at the Ballpark in Arlington, where the Rangers have a .934 team OPS.

4. Sunday: Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees (1:05 p.m., TBS)

The Yankees are down to their third catcher, rookie Francisco Cervelli (.579 OPS), and they've also had to deal with nagging injuries to Derek Jeter (oblique) and Hideki Matsui (hamstring).

5. Saturday: Cleveland at Tampa Bay (4:10 p.m., FOX)

The Indians are on a road trip of 10 games in 11 days. They're the worst team in the American League at 13-22 (-10.48 units). Carl Pavano (3-4, minus-0.19 units) has settled down for Cleveland after an 0-4 start.

6. Friday: Houston at Chicago Cubs (2:20 p.m)

The Astros opened the season by losing two of three at home to the Cubs, then dropped another pair last week. Now they travel to Wrigley to face Randy Wells, who blanked Milwaukee over five innings in his first-ever MLB start before Chicago lost 3-2.

7. Friday: Milwaukee at St. Louis (8:15 p.m.)

The Brewers took two of three from the Cubs and are one of the hottest teams in the majors at 8-2 over their past 10 games. This will be their first series against the Cards, who have dropped seven of 10 to fall into a three-way tie with Milwaukee and Cincinnati atop the NL Central.

8. Saturday: Cincinnati at San Diego (10:05 p.m.)

The Reds are sending Edinson Volquez (4-3, 1.10 units) to the hill against Joshua Geer (1-3, minus-2.00 units), a rookie righthander from Rice who was a third-round pick by the Padres in the 2005 draft.

9. Friday: Chicago White Sox at Toronto (7:07 p.m.)

The Jays are back on top of the money chart, while the White Sox are 3.25 units in the red at 15-18 after losing eight of 11. But the Pale Hose get something of a reprieve Friday as Toronto starts rookie Robert Ray (1-1, zero units).

10. Saturday: Colorado at Pittsburgh (7:05 p.m., MLBN)

The MLB Network will do its best to spice up this contest between the 13-19 Rockies (minus-6.34 units) and the 14-19 Pirates (minus-2.80 units). Pittsburgh is 9-7 at home this year; the under is 9-6-1 for the Pirates at home and 9-6-1 for the Rockies on the road.

For all the latest lines, visit Bodog Sports today!

By: Achkarian @ 20:53 | Category: Baseball  | Comments: 0 | Permalink

NBA Playoffs Update

May 7 2009 @ 00:11

NBA Playoffs Update

You can't help but be impressed with the 2009 NBA Playoffs. We're barely into the second round, but they're playing like it's the Finals. The best players are taking it to another level, bodies are flying, and the betting odds are having trouble keeping up. Let's get right to the raw data for all four conference semifinals.

Eastern Conference
Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Game 2: Thursday, May 7, 8:00 p.m. Eastern (ESPN)
Game 3: Saturday, May 9, 8:00 p.m. (ABC)
Game 4: Monday, May 11, 7:00 p.m. (TNT)
Game 5: Wednesday, May 13, TBA (TNT)
Game 6: Friday, May 15, TBA (ESPN)
Game 7: Monday, May 18, 8:00 p.m. (TNT)

Atlanta: 51-39 SU, 47-42-1 ATS, Under 48-40-2
Cleveland: 71-16 SU, 55-32 ATS, Under 49-37-1
Season Series: Cleveland 3-1 SU, 1-3 ATS, Over 3-1

Atlanta injuries: None
Cleveland injuries: J.J. Hickson (back), Lorenzen Wright (thumb)

The team with the best regular-season record in the league is now 5-0 SU and ATS in the playoffs after putting away the Hawks 99-72 in Tuesday's Eastern semifinal opener. Atlanta managed to stay tight through 24 minutes before the Cavs put their defensive stamp on the game and drove the under to the pay window. The Hawks were just 16-25 SU (21-20 ATS) on the road this year; Cleveland was 39-2 SU (28-13 ATS) at home.  

Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics

Game 2: Wednesday, May 6, 8:00 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 3: Friday, May 8, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4: Sunday, May 10, 8:00 p.m. (TNT)
Game 5: Tuesday, May 12, TBA (TNT)
Game 6: Thursday, May 14, TBA (ESPN)
Game 7: Sunday, May 17, TBA (TNT)

Orlando: 64-25 SU, 52-36-1 ATS, Under 51-38
Boston: 66-24 SU, 46-43-1 ATS, Over 47-42-1
Season Series: Boston 2-2 SU, 3-1 ATS, Under 3-1

Orlando injuries: Jameer Nelson (shoulder), Courtney Lee (sinus)
Boston injuries: Kevin Garnett (knee), Leon Powe (knee)

The Magic were second only to Cleveland in profitability during the regular season. They kept the ball rolling against the defending champions on Monday by winning Game 1 95-90 as 1.5-point road dogs, skimming just under the posted total of 188.5. Orlando led by 28 points before letting Boston chip its way back into the game. Some analysts are calling it a moral victory for the Celtics, but the box score says that power forward Glen Davis was minus-12 on the day while Magic counterpart Rashard Lewis was plus-14. Three more moral victories like that and Boston will be on the golf course

By: Aengus Moorehead @ 00:11 | Category: Misc  | Comments: 0 | Permalink