Tigers go for a road win against Price
Baseball Betting Lines
07/29/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been over a month since the Detroit Tigers last won a game on the road. A matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays and David Price doesn't seem to bode well for the struggling club's chances of ending that drought.
Price will attempt to become the American League's first 14-game winner when he takes the mound this afternoon for the Rays, who'll be aiming for a series sweep of the fading Tigers when these teams square off again at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay has taken the first three bouts of this set and dealt Detroit a ninth consecutive road defeat with Wednesday's 7-4 decision. The losing streak is the Tigers' longest in away games since the club dropped 10 in a row from September 16-October 2, 2005.
The Rays, on the other hand, have now won five straight contests and kept pace with the New York Yankees in the race for first place in the AL East as well as the best overall record in baseball. Tampa improved to 62-38 on the year, two games back of the Yankees for the top spot.
Tampa Bay used a 14-hit attack to prevail last night, with Evan Longoria breaking out of an 0-for-18 skid with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate that included a two-run homer. Carlos Pena added an RBI single and ended 2-for-3 on the evening.
The Rays scored five times over the first four innings to help Jeff Niemann (9-3) record his ninth win of the season. The towering right-hander labored through six innings and allowed four runs on eight hits, two of which were homers.
"It's nice to get a win on a night when we probably didn't deserve one," Niemann said. "The defense and offense really helped me out [Wednesday]."
Eddie Bonine (4-1), making his first start of 2010, took the loss for Detroit after being tagged for five runs and eight hits before being removed after 3 1/3 innings.
Johnny Damon went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI in the Tigers' latest loss, while Miguel Cabrera came through with a solo shot off Niemann in the top of the sixth.
Detroit has now lost 12 of its last 15 tests and has fallen five games behind front-running Chicago in the AL Central standings. A lack of offense has been one reason for the Tigers' woes, as the team has averaged a mere 2.9 runs per game over that poor stretch.
The Tigers did make a move towards trying to bolster their injury-plagued lineup on Wednesday, acquiring infielder Jhonny Peralta from Cleveland in exchange for minor-league pitcher Giovanni Soto. The 28-year-old is expected to serve as Detroit's third baseman with Brandon Inge likely sidelined for at least another month with a fractured finger.
Tampa Bay will probably sit out two regulars this afternoon, with center fielder B.J. Upton slated to miss a second straight game with a sprained ankle and right fielder Ben Zobrist bothered by a sore back that forced him to leave Wednesday's win after just three innings.
The Rays will have a healthy Price, who enters today's tilt with a glossy 13-5 record and 2.90 earned run average in 19 starts and is presently tied with the New York Yankees' CC Sabathia and Minnesota's Carl Pavano for the AL lead in wins. The 2010 All-Star Game starter has been even more impressive at home, where he boasts a 6-1 mark along with a splendid 2.04 ERA and has held the opposition to a .200 average this season.
The 2007 No. 1 overall pick has won his last three starts at Tropicana Field, but his most recent victory came on the road this past Saturday. Facing the Cleveland Indians, Price allowed three runs and just three hits over seven innings to help the Rays post a 6-3 decision.
Price also performed well in his only previous start against the Tigers, firing 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball to pick up a win at Comerica Park on August 29 of last season.
Detroit will send out another member of that 2007 first-round class in the finale, with youngster Rick Porcello getting the call for the visitors. The Tigers sophomore hasn't achieved nearly the degree of success Price has this season, however, nor has he been able to build off a very promising rookie campaign of 2009.
A 14-game winner as a 20-year-old last season, Porcello has slipped to a 4-8 record and produced a subpar 5.55 ERA in 15 starts thus far in 2010. Those struggles earned the right-hander a brief banishment to the minors in mid- June, but he's pitched better since returning after the All-Star break.
Porcello yielded just one run and walked none over eight strong innings during a no-decision at Cleveland on July 17, then surrendered three runs in six frames in a home defeat to Toronto on Saturday. It was the fourth straight losing decision for the New Jersey native, who hasn't won in the majors since May 23.
Porcello was sharp in his lone career start versus Tampa Bay, permitting just one run through 5 2/3 innings in a win at Comerica Park last August.
Prior to taking the first three games of this series, the Rays had lost in eight of their last 11 meetings with Detroit. The Tigers swept a three-game set in their lone trip to Tropicana Field last season.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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