Cubs, Mets kick off set at Wrigley Field

Baseball Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs will try to continue their strong play under interim manager Mike Quade this afternoon when they open a three-game series against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs are 6-3 since Lou Piniella stepped down on August 22 and just took two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates, including a 5-3 win in Wednesday's finale.

Kosuke Fukudome finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and an RBI to lead the way, while Tyler Colvin, Micah Hoffpauir, Koyie Hill and Jeff Baker each knocked in a run in the victory.

Thomas Diamond (1-3) picked up his first major-league win, despite allowing two hits and two runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Starter Tom Gorzelanny exited after 2 2/3 innings when a line drive from Jose Tabata struck his left hand.

"It's always nice to get your first. I wish it would have happened a little sooner, but it happened and now I hope I can go out and get a few more," Diamond said of his inaugural victory.

Carlos Marmol recorded the final four outs, and fanned three in a scoreless ninth to earn his 25th save.

Today, the Cubs will turn to righty Randy Wells, who is coming off his first win in more than a month. Wells defeated the Cincinnati Reds last Saturday, holding them to a pair of runs and six hits in six innings to run his record to 6-12, while lowering his earned run average to 4.50.

He had been 0-5 in his last six starts and had not won since beating the St. Louis Cardinals back on July 23.

Wells did not get a decision the last time he faced the Mets, despite surrendering just a run in six innings, and is 0-1 in two starts against them with a 1.50 ERA.

The Mets, meanwhile, will turn to knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who is 9-5 with a 2.57 ERA. Dickey was impressive in beating the Houston Astros on Sunday, allowing a run and six hits in six innings to match a career-high in wins he set with Texas in 2003.

This, though, will be his first-ever start against the Cubs. However, he is 3-0 against the NL Central and 3-1 in day games with a 2.13 ERA.

New York salvaged the finale of its four-game set with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, but lost ace Johan Santana in the process. Santana left after five innings, but limited Atlanta to just one run in New York's 4-2 win.

Santana (11-9) exited the game with a strained pectoral muscle. Prior to his departure, the left-hander had given up the one run on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts to break a three-start losing streak.

"It just progressed through the game," said Santana about the injury. "It's not something that happened on one pitch. I warmed up fine, but I eventually started to feel the tightness. I was able to finish the inning and thought I was able to come back out, but they didn't want to take any chances."

David Wright hit a solo home run while Joaquin Arias also had an RBI for the Mets, who have won just three of their last nine.

"This is all that we can do is win today's game," said Wright. "As much as we would have liked to play better here, we did what we could control today and that was win today's game."

The Mets, who have won three of four versus the Cubs this season, should get shortstop Jose Reyes back this weekend along with outfielder Angel Pagan. Reyes has missed the last seven games with an oblique injury, while Pagan has been battling right wrist tendinitis.

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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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