Dodgers hope for sweep of division rival Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

05/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surprising Padres came into this series sitting in first place in the National League West. However, a pair of losses to the Dodgers has quickly reminded them just who the defending division champs are.

San Diego will try to avoid getting swept by Los Angeles at home for the first time in almost nine years this afternoon in the finale of a three-game series at Petco Park.

The Padres finished off a three-game sweep of the Giants earlier this week to move 3 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the division standings. They also came into this series five games up on the Dodgers, but San Diego's lead in the division now stands at 1 1/2 over San Francisco and three up on Los Angeles, which has captured the last two NL West crowns.

After dropping a one-run game in the opener on Friday, the Padres fell to the Dodgers last night, 4-1. Los Angeles starter Clayton Kershaw threw seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball with seven strikeouts, while Jamey Carroll had two hits and an RBI.

The victory stretched Los Angeles' longest winning streak of the season to six games. The club has won all five of its games so far on a six-game road trip, a swing that began with a sweep of Arizona.

The Dodgers were able to pick up last night's victory despite playing without early triple-crown threat Andre Ethier, who sustained a fracture on the tip of his right pinkie finger during batting practice. Ethier is slated to see a hand specialist today and leads the majors with a .392 average and 38 RBI, while his 11 homers are tied with Arizona's Kelly Johnson for the most in the NL.

"It's something you certainly don't want to have happen," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of Ethier's injury. "The season doesn't give you a chance to breathe, just move on and the team we put on the field is the team we have to play with."

Chase Headley drove in the only run for the Padres, who haven't been swept at home by the Dodgers since a four-game series on June 28-July 1, 2001. San Diego was swept in four games at Los Angeles from April 30-May 3 of last season.

Kevin Correia was reinstated from the bereavement list prior to last night's game and gave up five hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings in defeat. Correia was placed on the bereavement list on Tuesday due to the death of his younger brother Trevor, who died last Saturday after falling from a 60-foot cliff while hiking.

"I know tonight was probably very emotional for him," Padres manager Bud Black said. "But I didn't see that from the time he came in the clubhouse until he left the game. He is a guy, by nature, that is pretty reserved."

Hoping to get the Padres into the win column is Wade LeBlanc. Though he has yet to lose in five starts this year or allow more than two runs in any of his outings, control issues prevented him from picking up a win last time out.

LeBlanc is 2-0 with a 1.61 earned run average on the year, but he lasted just 4 2/3 innings and 94 pitches on Tuesday versus the Giants. LeBlanc did not factor into the decision of his team's 3-2 victory after allowing two runs on six hits and a season-high four walks. Still, San Diego improved to 5-0 when the left-hander starts this season.

LeBlanc, 25, is 1-2 with a 6.27 ERA in four career starts versus the Dodgers, allowing 13 runs, 12 walks and four homers in 18 2/3 innings.

Chad Billingsley appears to have put some of his early-season issues behind him and he seeks a second straight winning start this afternoon for LA.

Billingsley held a 1-0 mark and 7.07 ERA over his first three starts of the year, but he has pitched to a 3.47 ERA over his last four, going 2-2 in that span. He did pick up a victory on Monday in Arizona after holding the Diamondbacks to a pair of runs and a season-low 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven while also matching a season high with four walks.

The 25-year-old righty is now 3-2 with a 4.82 ERA on the season and 8-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 18 career games versus the Padres, 14 of those starts.

The Dodgers won 10 of 18 versus the Padres last year, but San Diego took five of the nine contests played at Petco Park.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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