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**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:10 AM

Daily Sports Roundup: May 5

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The golfers of the PGA Tour tee off at Quail Hollow Club, while the Canucks look for another win in Nashville, and the Phillies battle the Nats.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

On the American League schedule for Thursday it's Toronto at Tampa Bay, the Angels at Boston, Baltimore at Kansas City, Cleveland at Oakland, Texas at Seattle, and the Yankees at Detroit. A.J. Burnett (4-1, 3.93 ERA) is set to take the mound for New York in that last matchup, while the Tigers counter with Rick Porcello (1-2, 4.25 ERA). Righthander Burnett faced Detroit back on April 2, picking up the win after allowing three runs on five hits over five innings of work. Righthander Porcello took on the Indians in his last trip to the hill, giving up two runs on seven hits in seven innings in a no-decision.

In the National League on Thursday it's then Houston at Cincinnati, San Francisco at the Mets, Florida at St. Louis, Milwaukee at Atlanta, Colorado at Arizona, and Washington at Philadelphia. The Nationals' John Lannan (2-3, 3.78 ERA) will take on the Phillies' Roy Halladay (4-1, 2.14 ERA) in that last game. Lefthander Lannan was beaten by the Phillies back on April 13, surrendering three runs (two earned) on six hits over six innings of work that day. Righthander Halladay was Lannan's opponent in that April 13 outing, picking up the win after giving up just two runs on six hits over his nine innings.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

There's just one game on the NHL's playoff schedule for Thursday, with Vancouver at Nashville in Game 4 of their best-of-seven second-round series. The Canucks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the set with a 3-2 road overtime win in Game 3 on Tuesday night. Ryan Kesler scored twice for Vancouver in that victory, potting the winner halfway through the extra frame. Chris Higgins had the other Canucks marker, while Roberto Luongo stopped 28 of 30 Nashville shots. David Legwand and Joel Ward had the goals for the Predators in Tuesday's losing cause, and Pekka Rinne allowed three goals on 47 shots.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, the golfers of the PGA Tour will hit the links at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte on Thursday morning to begin the Wells Fargo Championship. Phil Mickelson has been set as the +700 favorite to win this tournament by the oddsmakers, with defending champion Rory McIlroy behind him on that list at +1200 odds. Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, and Martin Kaymer are all pegged at +1500 odds to win the Wells Fargo Championship this week, with Hunter Mahan at +2000, and each of Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson at +2500. Rickie Fowler is in a group of golfers at +3000 to grab the win.

**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:13 AM

Thursday's betting tips: MLB visitors cashing on runlines

Who’s hot

NHL: Vancouver has won seven of its last nine dates in Nashville.

MLB: Kansas City was 13-5 at home heading into Wednesday’s action.

MLB: The under has cashed in on seven of the last 10 meetings between the Marlins and Cardinals in St. Louis.

Who’s not

NHL: The over hasn’t cashed in on any of the last seven meetings between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators.

MLB: Cincinnati is just 2-12 in its last 14 games as a favorite.

MLB: Houston has won just eight of its last 29 meetings with Cincinnati.

Key stat

64.72 percent: Visiting underdogs are making a killing for runline bettors early this season, cashing in at a 64.72 percent clip. Away dogs were 200-109 heading into Wednesday night’s action. Check out all of our early MLB season betting trends here.

Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked

Steve Sullivan, Nashville Predators: Sullivan left Game 3 with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Sullivan has two goals and an assist so far in the playoffs and notched 22 points in 44 regular season games. If he can’t go Thursday night, Colin Wilson is expected to take his place.

Game of the day

Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators (+105, 5)

Notable quotable

"I thought it was really light. I thought it was embellished... To me that's gamesmanship and I understand that.But it's also putting the referees in a tough spot. We have the best referees and if you are going to make them look bad I don't think that's needed in the game." – Nashville Predators coach accusing the Vancouver Canucks of diving to earn penalty calls. Nashville’s Shea Weber took a minor penalty in overtime of Game 3 and Ryan Kesler made him pay with the game-winning goal.

Notes and tips

The Toronto Blue Jays scratched Ricky Romero from his Thursday start as the lefty is ailing with an oblique injury. Kyle Drabek is expected to fill in for Romero against the Tampa Bay Rays while Jess Litsch takes the ball Friday. Drabek has been a pleasant surprise for bettors, sitting fifth in MLB’s money rankings. The Jays are 5-1 in his starts this season, raking in 4.61 units for bettors.

Trade rumors are floating around about the New York Mets’ Jose Reyes, who leads the team with a .325 batting average and has 11 steals already. The San Francisco Giants are reportedly interested, though they deny that they’ve talked to the Mets about Reyes at this point. "I'm still a New York Met, so whatever happens, happens," Reyes said. "I just want to play baseball. Right now I'm still on this team, so I'm going to continue to play and continue to do my job."

**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:15 AM

Thursday's six-pack

-- David DeJesus had two homers, his first multi-HR game in 903 career major league games, as the A's beat Cleveland 3-1.

-- Kevin Correia is now 5-0 on the road as Pittsburgh is 11-8 away from home, after being 17-64 on foreign soil last season.

-- Mike Stanton hit a dramatic two-run bomb into the CF bleachers to break a 9th-inning tie, as Florida won again, 8-7 in St Louis.

-- Joe West's umpiring crew had more trouble last night, as both Farrell and Maddon got tossed for arguing balls/strikes. When both managers get ejected, its a pretty good sign the umpiring sucked.

-- Eight American League games Wednesday, none had more than eight runs scored in them (the game with 8 runs went 13 innings). Baseball has a problem with lack of scoring.

-- Strange rain-delayed game in Fenway last night; not used to seeing so many empty seats there. Red Sox didn't get a hit until 7th inning,

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Thursday's List of 13: Clearing out a cluttered mind..........

13) Can you imagine the pressure on decision makers and then speech writers this weekend, as the Bin Laden situation unfolded? Have to come up with just the right words to satisfy both our citizens and people around the world. Seems like our people did a terrific job in a very tense situation.

12) Wouldn’t NBA playoff series be lot more fun, lot more dramatic if they were best of 3?

11) Cleveland ace Fausto Carmona allowed 10 runs in three IP in the season opener against the White Sox. Since then, he’s allowed 13 runs in 41.1 IP, as Indians have charged to best record in the AL.

10) Why is gambling illegal unless the government runs it? How is this fair?

9) I watched less of the NFL Draft last week than I have in any year since its been on TV. Part of it was that I was flying home during Friday nite’s telecast, but major part of it is that labor issues are sucking the enjoyment out of sports. No one in the NFL is hurting for money, but they constantly squabble over it. Enough already.

8) The guy who used to own Vitamin Water is really rich and a Mets’ fan, but he doesn’t want to contribute $200M to the nitwit Wilpons so he can be a minority owner and have no say-so in how things happen.

If 100% of the team goes up for sale, he wants to buy it, but problem is, I’m guessing whomever the minority owner winds up being, its hard to believe they wouldn’t have the first option to buy the team if 100% of it became available.

7) Waiting to see who comes up with this Halloween costume in October: woman with ketchup all over her Middle Eastern-style clothes, dressing up as one of Bin Laden’s wives.

6) Francisco Liriano tossed a no-hitter Tuesday, but threw only 66 strikes, with 57 balls; he walked six, struck out two in his 1-0 win. Very strange numbers for a no-hitter.

5) Bubba Watson’s wife is 6-4, played college hoop at Georgia (was in ’99 Final Four) and also played in WNBA. Not many pro athletes are less athletic than their wives. Its good to be him.

4) ESPN ran disturbing piece on how gambling is rampant in the stands at youth football games in south Florida, with thousands of dollars riding on outcomes of some games. These are 12-year old kids playing. Wow.

3) They never show people buying stuff on Pawn Stars; maybe its because there is no negotiation involved, you just pay whatever the price is on the tag, but it would be fun to see people haggle with Rick when they try to buy stuff from him, too.

2) I can’t figure out why the pretty woman on Mob Wives has no idea when her husband is being released from prison? Doesn’t the guy have a lawyer? Can’t she ask him? Didn’t she go to his sentencing? Instead, she talks to the husband on the phone and they wind up cursing each other out. Classic.

1) You know things aren’t going well when a pitcher on your fantasy team throws a no-hitter while he’s sitting on your bench that week. Not that that’s ever happened to me……lolol

**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:17 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Vancouver at Nashville
The Predators look to bounce back from their 3-2 loss in Game 3 and build on their 5-1 record in their last 6 games after scoring 2 goals or less in the previous game. Nashville is the pick (+105) according to Dunkel, which has the Predators favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Nashville (+105). Here are all of today's picks.

THURSDAY, MAY 5

Game 11-12: Vancouver at Nashville (8:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Vancouver 10.712; Nashville 12.444
Dunkel Line & Total: Nashville by 1 1/2; 4 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Vancouver (-125); 5
Dunkel Pick: Nashville (+105); Under

**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:20 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Thursday, May 5

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VANCOUVER (60-21-0-11, 131 pts.) at NASHVILLE (49-30-0-12, 110 pts.) - 5/5/2011, 8:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 9-6-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
11 of 14 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+7.3 Units)

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**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:23 AM

NHL
Short Sheet

Thursday, May 5

Western Conference Playoffs - Second Round - Game 4 - VAN 2-1
VANCOUVER at NASHVILLE, 8:35 PM ET VERSUS
VANCOUVER: 13-4 Under off 3+ Unders
NASHVILLE: 16-3 Under off loss by 1 goal

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:24 AM

NHL
Write-Up

Thursday, May 5

Three one-goal games in Vancouver-Nashville series so far; if you look at the 3rd period/OT in last two games, you see Vancouver has 41-28 edge in shots on goal. Four of Canucks' last five games went OT. Nashville is 0-12 on power play (23:16) in series, Vancouver 2-10 (17:14), after they scored twice in 5:56 while a man up in Game 3. Canucks have yet to get a first period goal in series, but they've won two of three games in Music City this season. Over is 5-2 in Eastern Conference games in this round, 1-4-1 in games out west.

**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:25 AM

NHL

Thursday, May 5

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Trend Report
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8:30 PM
VANCOUVER vs. NASHVILLE
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vancouver's last 7 games when playing Nashville
Vancouver is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games when playing Nashville
Nashville is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games when playing Vancouver
Nashville is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Vancouver

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**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:28 AM

NHL

Thursday, May 5

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Canucks at Predators: What bettors need to know
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Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators (+111, 5)

Vancouver leads series 2-1

THE STORY: The top-seeded Vancouver Canucks look to take a stranglehold on their Western Conference semifinal series against the fifth-seeded Nashville Predators on Thursday when the teams face off in Game 4 at Bridgestone Arena. Vancouver grabbed a 2-1 series lead with a 3-2 overtime victory on Tuesday. Ryan Kesler broke out of his slump by scoring a pair of power-play goals, including the game-winner at 10:45 of the extra session. The Canucks have gone to overtime in four of their last five contests, winning twice. Each of the first three games of the series have been one-goal affairs.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS

ABOUT THE PREDATORS: Nashville had been outshot 11-2 before opening the scoring midway through the first period of Game 3 on David Legwand's shorthanded goal. It registered only four shots in the second period for a total of 12 through 40 minutes before unleashing 14 in the third. Captain Shea Weber, a Norris Trophy finalist, received a questionable hooking penalty at 10:05 of overtime and Vancouver capitalized just 40 seconds later. It was just the second minor of the playoffs for Weber, who logged 56 penalty minutes during the regular season. Steve Sullivan suffered a lower-body injury late in the third period Tuesday and did not play in overtime.

ABOUT THE CANUCKS: Kesler, who scored a career-high 41 goals during the regular season, failed to tally in his first nine games this postseason before breaking out in Game 3. The Selke Trophy finalist forged a 1-1 tie exactly one minute into the second period and gave Vancouver the victory in overtime by deflecting Mikael Samuelsson's point shot past Vezina Trophy candidate Pekka Rinne. Kesler helped put Vancouver on the power play in the extra session, holding Weber's stick under his arm to draw the hooking infraction. The Canucks registered 15 shots in the first period Tuesday, matching their total in regulation during their double-overtime loss in Game 2. They surpassed that figure in the third session, firing 16 pucks at Rinne. Art Ross Trophy winner Daniel Sedin notched his first point of the series Tuesday, picking up the secondary assist on Kesler's first tally. Sedin led all players with seven shots on goal.

WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT: Sedin and Kesler lead the Canucks with eight points apiece this postseason. Sedin tops the club with five goals while twin brother Henrik has not tallied since March 27, a span of 16 games. Nashville's Joel Ward forced overtime Tuesday by scoring with 6:42 remaining in the third period. It was his fourth goal and seventh point of the playoffs - both team highs. Ward tallied just 10 times in 80 games during the regular season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Vancouver is 6-for-28 (21.4 percent) on the power play in the postseason thanks to its performance in Game 3. The Canucks, however, also allowed their second shorthanded goal of the playoffs. Nashville, which also has yielded a pair of shorthanders, has yet to score on 12 man advantages in the series and is 6-for-39 (15.4 percent) overall in the postseason. The Canucks have successfully killed 85.4 percent of their penalties while the Predators have a playoff-worst 68.8 percent success rate.

TRENDS:

* Under is 6-0-1 in the last seven meetings.
* Canucks are 7-2 in the last nine meetings in Nashville.
* Under is 5-2-1 in the last eight meetings in Nashville.
* Road team is 4-1 in the last five meetings.

LAST WORD: "He chicken-winged the stick and kept moving, and really if you look at it, Webs is pushing on him, trying to pull his stick out of there. I've seen it before. One of the earlier games, he drew a couple penalties like that by chicken-winging the stick and just holding it there and keep moving and see if he can sell it." - Nashville coach Barry Trotz on Kesler drawing the penalty on Weber in overtime of Game 3.

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**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:31 AM

NHL

Thursday, May 5

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Ice picks: Thursday’s best NHL bets
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Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators (+105, 5)

At least one of the Sedin twins is coming alive.

Daniel Sedin chipped in an assist on his team’s second goal in a 3-2 overtime win over Nashville in Game 3. The point was his first in four games. Over his past five, he has just one goal and one assist and is minus-4. Now the team simply has to get brother Henrik going. During his past seven games, he has only one assist and is minus-9.

The good news is that Daniel is skating better and fellow forward Ryan Kesler is starting to find a groove.

“It was good to get our power play going again,” Kesler said after Game 3. “We’ve not been struggling, but we haven’t been scoring, so it’s good to get a couple and get the confidence back up again.”

Kesler, a former Michigan standout, notched a pair of goals in the Game 3 win – including the overtime winner – and was again the best skater on the ice for Vancouver. The team hopes this breakout will carry over to Game 4, as he has nine multi-goal games this season.

When he nets one, more are quick to follow.

“Another great game for him,” Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. “He's leading the way out there. It's about time he got rewarded for his hard work. It was only a matter of time. You're not going to keep him off the scoresheet for very long and he got a couple tonight.”

And even if the Sedin twins continue to struggle, Kessler appears poised to continue his burst.

Pick: Vancouver

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**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:35 AM

MLB
Dunkel

Milwaukee at Atlanta
The Brewers look to take advantage of an Atlanta team that is 0-5 in Brandon Beachy's last 5 starts as a favorite. Milwaukee is the pick (+105) according to Dunkel, which has the Brewers favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (+105). Here are all of today's picks.

THURSDAY, MAY 5

Game 951-952: San Francisco at NY Mets (1:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Sanchez) 13.826; NY Mets (Pelfrey) 15.378
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 1 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: San Francisco (-120); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (+100); Over

Game 953-954: Florida at St. Louis (1:45 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Florida (Johnson) 17.276; St. Louis (Westbrook) 16.099
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: Florida (-135); 7
Dunkel Pick: Florida (-135); Under

Game 955-956: Washington at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Lannan) 14.640; Philadelphia (Halladay) 15.856
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-250); 7
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-250); Under

Game 957-958: Milwaukee at Atlanta (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Marcum) 15.662; Atlanta (Beachy) 14.776
Dunkel Line: Milwaukee by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-125); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (+105); Over

Game 959-960: Colorado at Arizona (9:40 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Hammel) 14.508; Arizona (Kennedy) 13.917
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Arizona (-115); 9
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (-105); Over

Game 961-962: NY Yankees at Detroit (1:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Burnett) 15.932; Detroit (Porcello) 14.504
Dunkel Line: NY Yankees by 1 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-115); 9
Dunkel Pick: NY Yankees (-115); Under

Game 963-964: Toronto at Tampa Bay (1:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Romero) 15.462; Tampa Bay (Price) 15.749
Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1/2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-145); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-145); Under

Game 965-966: LA Angels at Boston (1:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Pineiro) 17.004; Boston (Lackey) 15.763
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Boston (-165); 9
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (+145); Over

Game 967-968: Baltimore at Kansas City (2:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Tillman) 15.067; Kansas City (Chen) 15.932
Dunkel Line: Kansas City by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Kansas City (-115); 9
Dunkel Pick: Kansas City (-115); Under

Game 969-970: Cleveland at Oakland (3:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Gomez) 16.240; Oakland (Anderson) 15.668
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Oakland (-180); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+160); Over

Game 971-972: Texas at Seattle (10:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Texas (Lewis) 16.537; Seattle (Vargas) 15.651
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Texas (-115); 7
Dunkel Pick: Texas (-115); Over

Game 973-974: Houston at Cincinnati (12:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Myers) 15.236; Cincinnati (Bailey) 14.837
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-145); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Houston (+125); Under

**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:40 AM

MLB
Write-Up

Thursday, May 5

Hot pitchers
-- JSanchez is 2-0, 3.29 in his last five starts.
-- Johnson allowed one run in 28.1 IP in his last four starts. Westbrook is 1-0, 1.50 in his last couple starts.
-- Halladay is 2-0, 1.02 in his last couple starts.
-- Marcum is 2-0, 1.73 in his last four starts. Beachy is 1-0, 1.89 in his last three starts.
-- Kennedy is 2-0, 1.66 in his last three starts. Hammel is 2-1, 2.29 in his last three outings.

-- Porcello is 1-0, 1.83 in his last three starts. Burnett is 4-1, 4.17 in his six starts, five of which were at home.
-- Former Angel Lackey has a 1.35 RA in his last three starts. Pineiro allowed one run in seven IP in his first '11 start, at Tampa Bay.
-- Tillman is 1-1, 3.09 in his last couple starts.
-- Anderson is 2-2, 3.40 in six starts this season.

Cold pitchers
-- Pelfrey is 1-3, 8.04 in six starts this season.
-- Lannan is 1-3, 4.24 in his last four starts.
-- Myers is 0-1, 5.89 in his last three starts. Bailey is making first '11 start; he is 16-16, 5.09 in 56 career starts.

-- Price is 1-2, 4.96 in three home starts. Drabek is 1-1, 4.51 in his last three outings.
-- Chen is 0-1, 8.38 in his last couple starts.
-- Gomez is 0-1, 7.20 in two starts for Cleveland.
-- Vargas is 1-2, 6.43 in his last five starts. Lewis is 1-3, 6.38 in his last four outings.

Totals
-- Under is 5-1-1 in Washington's last seven games.
-- Over is 7-3-1 in last eleven Cincinnati home games.
-- 10 of last 11 Atlanta games went over the total.
-- Eight of last nine San Francisco games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last seven Florida games went over the total.
-- Four of Arizona's last five games stayed under the total.

-- Three of last four Drabek starts went over the total.
-- Last six Bronx games stayed under the total.
-- Last three Lackey starts stayed under the total.
-- Seven of last eleven Baltimore road games went over the total.
-- Three of last four Anderson starts went over the total.
-- Seven of last eleven Texas games went over the total.

Hot teams
-- Astros won three of their last four games.
-- Phillies won five of their last six games.
-- Atlanta won its last four games, scoring 28 runs.
-- Marlins won seven of their last ten road games.
-- Rockies won ten of their last thirteen road games.

-- Tampa Bay won seven of its last ten games.
-- Angels won ten of their last fourteen road games. Red Sox won six of their last nine home games.
-- Royals won four of their last five games.
-- Indians won seven of their last eight games. A's won seven of their last ten home games.
-- Mariners won six of their last eight games.

Cold teams
-- Mets lost five of their last six games. Giants 5-8 in last 13 games, but did win their last two.
-- Cardinals lost three of their last four games.
-- Washington lost its last three road games, scoring seven runs.
-- Milwaukee lost six of its last seven road games.
-- Arizona is 5-8 in its last 13 games.
-- Reds lost seven of their last ten home games.

-- Toronto lost three of its last four games.
-- Rangers lost eight of their last eleven road games.
-- Tigers lost seven of their last nine games, but won last two. Bronx lost its last two games, scoring total of two runs.
-- Orioles lost seven of their last eleven road games.

Umpires
-- SF-NY-- Last three Cooper games stayed under the total.
-- Fla-StL-- Five of seven Wendelstedt games went over total.
-- Wsh-Phil-- Three of last four Hickox games stayed under total.
-- Mil-Atl-- Underdogs won four of last six Johnson games.
-- Colo-Az--Home side won all seven Eddings games, with four of last five going over the total.
-- Hst-Cin-- Four of last five Hallion games stayed under total.

-- NY-Det-- Five of seven Tschida games went over the total.
-- Tor-TB-- Underdogs won three of last five West games.
-- LA-Bos-- Five of six Diaz games stayed under total.
-- Blt-KC-- Three of last four Fletcher games stayed under total.
-- Clev-A's-- Visiting team won five of six Wolf games.
-- Tex-Sea-- Road team won Vanover's last four games behind dish.

**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:45 AM

MLB

Thursday, May 5

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Trend Report
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12:35 PM
HOUSTON vs. CINCINNATI
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games
Houston is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games when playing Cincinnati
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati's last 6 games
Cincinnati is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games at home

1:05 PM
NY YANKEES vs. DETROIT
NY Yankees are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Yankees's last 6 games on the road
Detroit is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games
Detroit is 3-6 SU in their last 9 games when playing NY Yankees

1:10 PM
TORONTO vs. TAMPA BAY
Toronto is 5-17 SU in its last 22 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games

1:10 PM
SAN FRANCISCO vs. NY METS
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco's last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Mets
San Francisco is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Mets
NY Mets are 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
NY Mets are 4-9 SU in its last 13 games at home

1:35 PM
LA ANGELS vs. BOSTON
The total has gone OVER in 4 of LA Angels's last 6 games on the road
LA Angels are 10-4 SU in their last 14 games on the road
Boston is 15-2 SU in their last 17 games when playing LA Angels
Boston is 8-2 SU in their last 10 games when playing at home against LA Angels

1:40 PM
FLORIDA vs. ST. LOUIS
Florida is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Florida's last 7 games
St. Louis is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of St. Louis's last 9 games

2:10 PM
BALTIMORE vs. KANSAS CITY
Baltimore is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
Baltimore is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
Kansas City is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Baltimore
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Kansas City's last 9 games

3:35 PM
CLEVELAND vs. OAKLAND
Cleveland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Cleveland is 4-12 SU in its last 16 games when playing Oakland
Oakland is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home
Oakland is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games when playing Cleveland

7:05 PM
WASHINGTON vs. PHILADELPHIA
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Washington's last 13 games on the road
Washington is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 7 games when playing Washington

7:10 PM
MILWAUKEE vs. ATLANTA
Milwaukee is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Milwaukee is 5-10 SU in its last 15 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

9:40 PM
COLORADO vs. ARIZONA
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Colorado's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Colorado's last 22 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games

10:10 PM
TEXAS vs. SEATTLE
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games
Texas is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
Seattle is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
Seattle is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games at home

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**Udog** · 05-05-2011, 08:47 AM

MLB

Thursday, May 5

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Hot lines: Thursday's best MLB bets
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Cleveland Indians at Oakland Athletics (-175, 7.5)

The Indians actually won’t mind facing Oakland lefthander Brett Anderson.

The Tribe hit southpaws better than anyone else in baseball and are licking their chops to continue their white-hot start. Cleveland is batting .309 against lefthanders this season, including 10 home runs and 20 doubles. The Indians also have scored an MLB-high 60 runs on a league-best 58 RBI versus shoppers at the Leftorium.

“I think we do a great job as a ballclub once we get between the lines, it’s baseball, it’s business,” Cleveland first baseman Matt LaPorta said. “We’ve done a great job at that this year.”

And if Oakland needs to score runs to keep up, it will be a pretty tall task.

The Athletics are hitting just .248 in their own ballpark and have scored just 52 runs there through 14 games, putting them among the worst offenses in the bigs. The team also loves to give runs away, committing an American League-high 27 errors.

Free agent acquisition Hideki Matsui also is having his fair share of struggles this year. Despite hitting a game-winning home run over the Rangers this week, he is batting a mere .242. The Athletics just don’t have enough bullets in the gun to keep up with Cleveland.

"The adjustments are ongoing on a daily basis," Matsui said. "That's what I have been doing and it's what I will keep doing."

Pick: Indians

Houston Astros at Cincinnati Reds (-140, 8.5)

Houston’s pitching isn’t bad: it’s flat-out terrible.

The Astros have a MLB-worst 6.12 earned-run average away from the Lone Star State this season, but it gets worse. Opponents are batting an MLB-high .317 against the Astros and have done it all despite garnering a mere 40 extra-base hits, among the fewest against any staff.

When opposing hitters get locked in, they simply drill single after single after single to issue a beatdown. It also doesn’t help that Houston has one of the worst defenses in the majors backing up their horrid pitching. The Astros are tied with Oakland for the lead in the bigs with 27 errors.

"What has blindsided me a little bit is the defensive play the last few games," Astros manager Brad Mills said. "We've been so good the first three-fifths [of the season], and now it kind of ... you want to talk to the guys and see where they're at."

Mills said he isn’t ready to point fingers at anyone yet, but there are plenty of candidates. Shortstop Angel Sanchez has booted the ball six times and third baseman Chris Johnson has botched five plays so far.

"Are they able to keep that focus and concentration through what's going on?" he said. "It's human nature. We've all been there. They've been real good about talking. I'm not calling anybody out either. We're just discussing it with them."

The Reds are too good to let this team off the hook.

Pick: Reds

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Thursday's Trends and Indexes - 5/5 (NBA, NHL, MLB, Misc.)

Thursday's Trends and Indexes - 5/5 (NBA, NHL, MLB, Misc.)

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