A's Cahill puts unbeaten streak on the line against Orioles

Baseball Betting Lines

07/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics young starter Trevor Cahill is making a case for the American League All-Star team and will try to keep his unbeaten streak intact tonight against the Baltimore Orioles in the finale of a three- game series from Camden Yards.

Cahill is 6-0 with a 2.24 earned run average in his last eight starts with the opposition batting only .198 over that streak. Cahill's run is a career best and he has yet to allow a run in the first inning this season. He previously pitched in Saturday's 5-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and held them scoreless through 7 2/3 innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts.

The right-hander, whose last loss came on May 16 against the LA Angels of Anaheim, beat the Orioles on the road this season on May 26. Cahill lasted six innings and gave up one run to improve to 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in three career starts against Baltimore. In 12 total starts this season, Cahill is 7-2 with a 2.88 earned run average.

Baltimore will send out a young hurler of its own for Thursday's series finale, as Jake Arrieta is slated to make his fifth career start. Arrieta broke out on the scene with consecutive wins, but is 0-1 with a 12.27 earned run average in his last two trips to the hill.

Arrieta did not record a decision versus Washington last Friday, when he gave up six runs -- five earned -- and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings of his team's 7-6 win. Overall, the righty is 2-1 with a 6.20 ERA and 1-0 in two home starts. Arrieta has never faced the Pirates.

The Orioles hope Arrieta can stay unbeaten at home as they try to win their second straight series after beating Oakland, 9-6, in Wednesday's second portion of this three-game set. After the A's took a 6-3 lead with a six-run fourth inning, the homer parade started with Ty Wigginton belting a two-run shot and Luke Scott adding a solo homer in the seventh.

Baltimore then closed out the scoring for a 9-6 advantage thanks to Miguel Tejada's two-run shot in the eighth. Corey Patterson and Adam Jones also went deep and Matt Albers was credited with the win for tossing a scoreless inning of relief. Kevin Millwood started and yielded six runs -- five earned -- on eight hits in six frames for the no-decision.

Alfredo Simon then closed the door in the ninth for his 10th save.

"We're trying to continuously play hard," Jones said. "Play the game we all know. All we can do is leave it on the field. Everybody wants to win, so we're going out there and giving all we got."

After today's game versus the Athletics, Baltimore will hit the road for 10 games against Boston, Detroit and Texas.

Oakland has lost 11 of its last 17 games and had a four-game winning streak come to an end with yesterday's 9-6 loss. Coco Crisp hit a three-run homer during a six-run fourth inning and Mark Ellis finished 3-for-4 with a run scored for the A's, who will visit Cleveland for three games after this set.

"This was a really frustrating loss," Ellis said. "We scored some runs ... When we score runs, we usually win games, and this was a tough one for us. We've got another one tomorrow, and we can still win the series."

Athletics starter Ben Sheets lasted six innings and gave up four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts in the no- decision. Cedrick Bowers was tagged with the loss.

Oakland has won six of nine meetings with Baltimore this season and is 16-4 in the previous 20 contests between the clubs.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.