Cards try to best Mets once again

Baseball Betting Lines

04/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joel Pineiro tries to stay perfect on the season when he toes the rubber for the St. Louis Cardinals tonight in the middle test of a three-game series versus the New York Mets at Busch Stadium.

Pineiro opened the season on April 10 versus Houston and earned the win with 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball. He then took the hill again on April 15 at Arizona, recording the win despite surrendering five runs and nine hits over five innings of work. He received more than enough run support in that one, as the Cardinals posted a 12-7 triumph.

The right-hander is unbeaten against the Mets, as evidenced by a 1-0 mark and 4.76 ERA in three career starts.

St. Louis opened a six-game homestand with Tuesday's 6-4 victory over the Mets, as Rick Ankiel posted three hits and drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to lead the way. Yadier Molina also had three hits while Albert Pujols knocked in a pair of runs for St. Louis, which had lost two of three to the Cubs in a rain-shortened series over the weekend.

Jason Motte recorded the final two outs in the eighth to pick up the win and Ryan Franklin set down New York in order in the ninth for his third save of the season. Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer did not factor in the decision and allowed four runs on 10 hits in five innings.

The Cardinals will host the Central rival Cubs for three games after this series with the Mets.

New York has lost two in a row for the third time this season and experienced another rough outing with Oliver Perez on the hill. Perez was reached for four runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings, but it was new set-up man J.J. Putz who suffered the loss for the Mets. Putz gave up two costly runs and three hits in the eighth.

Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran each ended with two hits and an RBI for the Mets, while Daniel Murphy also drove in a run.

Toeing the rubber for the Mets tonight will be John Maine, who is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in two trips to the mound this season. Maine is coming off a rough outing Thursday against San Diego, as he yielded six runs and seven hits over five innings of a 6-5 loss.

The right-hander, who did not record a decision in a 5-4 loss to Florida in his season debut on April 10, is 1-1 with a 5.63 earned run average in three career starts against St. Louis.

New York won four of seven meetings with St. Louis a year ago.

Wwwrio Baseball Betting News

<< Dodgers aim to get back rolling in second test with Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to start a new winning streak when they resume a three-game series against the Houston Astros tonight at Minute Maid Park. Los Angeles entered Tuesday's series opener riding an eight-game t

<< Ace hurlers face off as Orioles, ChiSox resume set
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two unbeaten pitchers square off tonight at Baltimore's Camden Yards, where the Orioles and Chicago White Sox resume a three-game series. Orioles ace Jeremy Guthrie is 2-0 with a 4.32 earned run average in three starts th

<< Lee, Indians go for second straight win over Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee seems to be back on track after back-to-back losses to start the season. He will try to prove it tonight against the Kansas City Royals at Jacobs Field. Lee, who wen

<< Angels continue home series with Tigers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will try to win back-to- back games for the first time this season, as they resume a three-game series tonight with the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium. Having won back-to-back America

<< Philadelphia Eagles 2009 Draft Preview (Revised)
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eagles took care of a major offseason need last week, when they acquired Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters from the Bills in a package that sent the team's No. 28 overall pick to Buffalo. With that need out of the way, Ph

Buffalo Bills 2009 Draft Preview (Revised) >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Bills picked up an extra first-round pick (No. 28 overall) as well as a 2009 fourth-rounder when they dealt Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters to the Eagles last week, but also created a glaring need at Peters' vacated spo

Miami Dolphins 2009 Draft Preview (Revised) >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The metamorphosis continues for Bill Parcells, Tony Sparano and company, and as we found out last year, defense is at the heart of the organization's transition. With cornerback Andre' Goodman and safety Renaldo Hill now wear

Saunders to coach Wizards >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards confirmed Wednesday that Flip Saunders will become their next head coach and that he's expected to be formally introduced at a press conference Thursday. Several media outlets report

Report: Mavs' Terry wins Sixth Man Award >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry reportedly captured the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award. According to the Dallas Morning News, Terry will receive the award at a press conference on Friday. In order

Benitez admits title worries >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has admitted Manchester United is in the driving seat in the title race following his side's 4-4 draw with Arsenal. The Reds moved back to the top of the Premier Le

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

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 MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards