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[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Giants (83-70) at Dodgers (76-76)


Game: 1
Venue: Dodger Stadium
Date: September 20, 2011 10:10 PM EDT

The San Francisco Giants are enjoying their longest win streak of the season with eight straight, but it will be tough to keep it going against Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw can become the first Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher in two decades to win 20 games and the first to go 5-0 against the Giants in one season when he faces Tim Lincecum for the fourth time this year Tuesday night.

San Francisco (83-70) heads to Dodger Stadium trying to win nine in a row for the first time since May 20-31, 2004. The Giants are still in striking distance in the NL West and wild-card races.

"We've done what we needed to do," manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's obvious we need help. We've got to find a way to get (wins) and see what happens at the end."

Getting a win will be a tall order against Kershaw (19-5, 2.30 ERA), who leads the league with 236 strikeouts and is 6-0 with a 0.71 ERA in his last seven outings. He's won seven straight at Dodger Stadium, including three complete games, and is 10-0 with a 1.46 ERA in his last 13 home starts.

The NL Cy Young Award favorite is bidding to become the Dodgers' first 20-game winner since Ramon Martinez in 1990 and the first to go 5-0 against the Giants since Vic Lombardi in 1946, when the team was still in Brooklyn.

The left-hander has not yielded an earned run in four of five starts against San Francisco this year, allowing one unearned run and striking out 30 over 23 innings in beating Lincecum three times. Lincecum (13-12, 2.59) is 0-2 in those outings, giving up two earned runs and striking out 18 over 22 innings.

Kershaw's 1.26 career ERA against the Giants is his lowest against any NL opponent, and he leads the majors with a 1.72 home ERA.

Lincecum's 2.02 road ERA is the best in baseball, although the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner's last five outings have been at home. He has a 1.65 ERA against the Dodgers (76-76) this season.

Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp, however, is 5 for 10 against Lincecum this year after going 2 for 20 previously. Kemp, who owns the longest active streak in the majors by playing in 354 straight games, is 7 for 12 during Los Angeles' current three-game win streak.

James Loney is 8 for 11 with nine RBIs in those three games after a career-best, five-hit effort in Sunday's 15-1 rout of Pittsburgh. Loney is hitting .190 against the Giants this year and is 6 for 37 (.162) versus Lincecum.

San Francisco slugger Pablo Sandoval also is coming off a big weekend, going 7 for 12 with three homers and six RBIs in a three-game sweep at Colorado. He's hit .483 with 11 RBIs in his last seven games.

"What a series he had," Bochy said. "Pretty impressive. Pablo was locked in."

Sandoval, 5 for 21 in his career versus Kershaw, is hitting .395 with three homers and seven RBIs against the Dodgers this year.

The Giants are 8-7 against the Dodgers, who are beginning their final home series.

"At this time, it's hard to get excited about ruining somebody's year," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told the majors' official website. "But they are getting back into it, so the atmosphere should be fun."

[StarDust Bum]

Tampa Bay Rays Visit New York Yankees

The Tampa Bay Rays hope to continue to close the gap in the AL Wild Card race Tuesday night when they head to the Bronx York to play the first game of a four-game series against the New York Yankees.

Tuesday’s matchup is set to start at 7:05 p.m. (ET) at Yankee Stadium with right-handers Wade Davis and Ivan Nova on the mound.

With the Boston Red Sox losing eight of their last 10, the Yankees and the Rays have benefited. Entering Monday’s action, New York held a 4.5-game lead over Boston in the AL East, and Tampa Bay had closed the Wild Card gap to just two games. This series is critical for both teams as Tampa Bay fights for a spot in the postseason and New York hopes to lock up the division.

Tampa Bay (85-67) has given Boston fans reason to worry, going 11-4 (+6.20 units) over the last 15 games, including a 6-1 record (+5.95 units) in seven games against the Red Sox. If the Rays can stay hot, they could pull a shocker and knock Boston out of playoff contention.

Davis (10-9, 4.41 ERA) has been the beneficiary of solid run support of late. Despite giving up three or more runs in six of his last nine starts, Tampa Bay is 7-2 (+4.80 units) over that stretch.

This will be Davis’s first start against the Yankees this season. In five career starts against them, he is 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA.

New York (91-60) hasn’t been playing particularly well of late, losing three of their last four (-3.95 units) and six of their last 10 (-6.85 units). But with Boston playing worse and a nice cushion in the AL East, the Yankees are still in the driver’s seat to hold on to the division down the stretch.

Nova (15-4, 3.81 ERA) has been a major bright spot for the Yankees this season. He has given up two runs or less in eight of his last 14 starts, and the Yankees are 12-2 (+8.40 units) over those games. New York has lost Nova’s last two trips to the mound, but he didn’t pitch poorly in either of them.

Nova pitched well in his one start against Tampa Bay this season, giving up one run in 5 1/3 innings to earn the win over James Shields on May 17. He fared much worse in his two starts against the Rays in 2010, in which he had two no decisions and a 6.97 ERA.

The season series between these AL East rivals has been pretty evenly matched, with New York holding the slight 6-5 edge. Despite the powerful offenses of these teams, the total has trended ‘under’ at 7-4.

Tampa Bay has been a good betting option away from home, going 43-34 (+10.60 units). New York has played well at home, but are only slightly profitable at 46-37 (+1.65 units).

Ben Zobrist (personal) will be out Tuesday, but should return to the lineup for Wednesday’s doubleheader.

Tuesday night’s weather is expected to be slightly cloudy with winds of up to 10 mph.

[StarDust Bum]

Fever, Dream Highlight WNBA Playoffs Betting Update

Atlanta swept the season series against Indiana, going 2-1 ATS.
Going into Tuesday night, just five teams remain in the quest to capture the 2011 WNBA Championship. We're stacking up the five teams left standing and the chances that they have of being crowned champs this year.

We already know the two combatants remaining in the Eastern Conference. The Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream will meet for the right to move on to the WNBA Finals starting on Thursday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Atlanta was a decided underdog in its first round series with the Connecticut Sun. The Sun tied for the regular season Eastern Conference crown, but were relegated to the No. 2 seed in the final days of the season.

After starting off the season at just 3-9, the Dream really got rolling, winning 17 of their last 22 games going into the playoffs before posting the two-game sweep of the Sun.

The beneficiaries are the Fever, the top seed in the East. Their three-game series with the New York Liberty was intense, as the teams split the first two games, which had a combined margin of victory of just seven points.

Indiana got the job done in Game 3 though, winning 72-62 behind 21 points from Katie Douglas to move on to the second round.

Atlanta swept the season series with the Fever, going 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS. The Dream have scored at least 84 points in six straight in this series, and are 5-1 SU in those six games. Needless to say, the 'over' has cashed six in a row, and is 8-1 in the last nine meetings at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Out West, things are a lot more interesting. On Monday night, the Phoenix Mercury knocked off the Seattle Storm 77-75 in the do-or-die Game 3 to make it to the Western Conference Finals.

The Mercury were the No. 3 seed after going just 19-15 in the regular season, including posting a mediocre 11-11 record against fellow Western Conference teams.

Phoenix got its doors blown off in Game 1 of this series in Seattle, dropping 80-61, but it fired back in Game 2 with a 92-83 win. Game 3 looked to be a blowout after a 20-9 first quarter in favor of the Shock, but the Mercury outscored them in each of the final three quarters, capped by a Candice Dupree bucket with less than two seconds left to knock the hosts out of the postseason.

Who the Mercury play next is still up in the air. The Minnesota Lynx posted the best record in the league this year at 27-7, but they have struggled and struggled mightily against No. 4 seed San Antonio in their first round series.

The Silver Stars nearly pulled off the shocker in Game 1 as nine-point underdogs, dropping 66-65 in arguably the best game thus far in the WNBA playoffs. San Antonio came back two nights later to post an 84-75 win at home in Game 2.

Now, the Silver Stars shoot for the upset in Game 3 as 7 ½-point underdogs on the WNBA odds.

Minnesota had beaten San Antonio all four times in the regular season this year, which makes this series stretching the distance quite the shock.

The Western Conference Finals should begin on Friday, with Game 1 either being in Minnesota or Phoenix.

The Mercury went just 2-3 this year against the Lynx and the Silver Stars, but they will have to feel a heck of a lot better if San Antonio win on Tuesday night to give Phoenix home court advantage in the Western Conference Finals.

[StarDust Bum]

NY Yankees Host Rays For MLB Betting Doubleheader

CC Sabathia is 8-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 15 starts at Yankee Stadium this year.
The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees are in the midst of a four-game series that will determine a lot in the American League East Division and AL Wild Card races. Both teams are set to play six of their final nine games against each other.

Wednesday’s first pitch of a day-night doubleheader will come at 1:05 (ET) at Yankee Stadium and will be followed by a nationally-televised contest at 7:05 on ESPN.

New York opened the series with a magic number of four to clinch a playoff spot, and five in order to win the division. The club had won six of the first 11 meetings with Tampa Bay during the 2011 campaign heading into Tuesday's series opener.

Playing this series in the Bronx is a definite advantage for the Yankees who begin with a 3-2 home record against Tampa Bay this year, while holding an all-time 78-36 mark in the series when playing at Yankee Stadium.

The Bronx Bombers are an MLB-best 40-12 in day games this season, leading all teams with a .279 batting average and hitting 73 home runs. New York’s pitching staff also ranks sixth, owning a 3.33 ERA under the sun.

CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.01 ERA) will head to the mound for the first contest, looking to win his first game since Sept. 4. He failed to deliver a win in consecutive road games against the Angels and Blue Jays, allowing five runs and 18 hits over 11 2/3 innings.

The left-hander has tallied an impressive 8-3 record and 3.11 ERA in 15 home starts, issuing just 21 walks and registering 114 punch-outs in 110 frames.

Sabathia will be facing the Rays for the 24th time in his career, entering with a 9-7 mark and 3.13 ERA, including a 5-1 home loss on Aug. 12 (8 IP, 5 ER).

Bettors will find that the Yankees are 17-8 in their last 25 opening games of a doubleheader, while the ‘under’ is 10-3 in that particular situation.

Tampa Bay has won 11 of its past 15 games and has cut a nine-game deficit in the Wild Card standings to just two before Tuesday's action. The Rays have posted a 26-13 record since Aug. 8, which is the best second-best mark in the majors over that span behind the Detroit Tigers.

James Shields (15-11, 2.78 ERA) has won four of his last five starts and will be looking to improve his 4-10 career record against the Yankees. He did come away with a 2-1 home win over New York on July 21, giving up just a single run and six hits over 7 2/3 frames.

The right-hander will need to pitch carefully to Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, who is 20-for-50 (.400) with three home runs and nine RBIs against him.

The Rays are 2-7 in Shields’ last nine road starts against the Bronx Bombers.

Tampa Bay is scheduled to send out Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.91 ERA) in the nightcap to face New York’s Phil Hughes (5-5, 6.00 ERA).

It’s important to note that the Rays are 3-8 when playing the second game of a twinbill, while the Yankees are 8-3 in the situation.

Weather forecasts suggest comfortable temperatures in the low-70s for both contests, while a 40 percent chance of showers will persist throughout.

[StarDust Bum]

Diamond Trends - Tuesday

September 20, 2011


SU TREND OF THE DAY:

The Royals are 0-7 since May 11, 2010 as a favorite after a loss and it is the first game of the series for a net profit of $870 when playing against.


OU TREND OF THE DAY:

The Giants are 7-0 OU since June 07, 2010 as a road dog vs a team that has won at least their last two games and it is the first game of a series for a net profit of $700 when playing the over.


STARTER TREND OF THE DAY:

The Reds are 10-0 since May 18, 2010 when Homer Bailey starts after more strike outs than hits allowed and they won in his previous start for a net profit of $1025.


MLB BIBLE TREND OF THE DAY:

The Athletics are 19-0 (+4.8 rpg) in the first game of a home series when they are off a loss in which they were scoreless over the last five innings, as long as they weren’t more than a 140 favorite in that loss.


TODAY’S TRENDS:

The Pirates are 0-8 since May 29, 2010 as a 170+ dog when they are off two losses in which they never led and it is not the first game of a series for a net profit of $800 when playing against.

The Mariners are 5-0 OU since June 14, 2010 as a dog after a win in which they allowed 1 or fewer walks and it is the first game of a series for a net profit of $500 when playing the over.

The Giants are 5-0 since September 07, 2010 when Tim Lincecum starts on the road after August for a net profit of $665.

[StarDust Bum]

Kershaw tries to halt Giants' 8-game win streak

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (83-70, -1.4 Units)

at LOS ANGELES DODGERS (76-76, -2.9 Units)


First pitch: Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. EDT
Line: Los Angeles -120, San Francisco +110, Total: 5.5

Two of the best young aces in baseball in Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw will square off in what should be a pitchers’ duel in Los Angeles Tuesday night. Kershaw will look to tame a scorching-hot Giants squad that has won eight games in a row. Both teams are familiar with the opposing pitchers, with the Giants facing Kershaw five times this season and the Dodgers having battled Lincecum four times already.

The Giants are 25-15 (+8.4 Units) against left-handed starters this year, and are also 40-23 (+12.8 Units) against NL West opponents this year, including all eight games during their winning streak. The Giants are averaging 7.1 runs per game during the streak, and Lincecum is 12-2 when his team scores 2+ runs for him. Combine this with Lincecum’s gaudy 2011 road numbers (2.02 ERA, .211 opponents’ BA), and the play here is SAN FRANCISCO as slight underdogs to pull out a ninth straight victory.

The FoxSheets provide a pair of three-star trends favoring the Giants.

Play Against - Home teams with a money line of -100 to -150 (L.A. DODGERS) - with a hot starting pitcher- ERA less than 2.00 over his last 3 starts, after 3 straight games where the bullpen gave up no earned runs. (60-34 since 1997.) (63.8%, +35.6 units. Rating = 3*).

Play On - All underdogs with a money line of +100 to +150 (SAN FRANCISCO) - on a good fielding streak, 15 straight games with one or less errors, in September games.(94-68 over the last 5 seasons.) (58%, +46.1 units. Rating = 3*).

Lincecum (13-12, 2.59 ERA) is having another strong season, and is picking up steam, allowing just one earned run and 10 hits in 15 innings spanning his past two starts. Although he is 0-2 against the Dodgers this year, that is a poor indicator of how much he has tortured their lineup. In four starts, he has a 1.65 ERA and has held L.A. hitters to a measly .218 batting average. Those reflect his career splits against them, in which he has a 5-3 record and 2.87 ERA. Play on him.

Kershaw (19-5, 2.30 ERA) is seemingly unhittable right now, having given a total of four earned runs in his past seven starts (0.71 ERA, 0.80 WHIP) with 52 K and 6 BB in 51 IP. The Dodgers have been victorious in 11 of Kershaw’s past 13 starts, including a 4-1 record against the Giants this season. In those five starts he’s 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA, 0.84 ERA and 11.2 K/9 (43 K in 34.2 IP). Kershaw has also been excellent in Dodger Stadium, going 11-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 15 home starts this year.

Something to watch out for in this game is the play of Matt Kemp, a serious MVP candidate with 34 home runs, 113 RBI and 40 stolen bases. In 30 career at-bats versus Lincecum, Kemp is slugging .267 with 12 strikeouts.

[StarDust Bum]

Date WLT Pct Net Units Record
09/19/11 9-*9-*1 50.00% +*520 Detail
09/18/11 17-*12-*1 58.62% +*2380 Detail
09/17/11 17-*11-*2 60.71% +*4220 Detail
09/16/11 13-*15-*1 46.43% -*2330 Detail
09/15/11 9-*8-*3 52.94% +*640 Detail
09/14/11 18-*9-*2 66.67% +*4020 Detail
09/13/11 15-*14-*1 51.72% +*1005 Detail
09/12/11 10-*12-*0 45.45% -*975 Detail
09/11/11 12-*18-*0 40.00% -*3165 Detail
09/10/11 16-*13-*1 55.17% +*1540 Detail
09/09/11 16-*14-*0 53.33% +*735 Detail
09/08/11 8-*10-*0 44.44% -*1695 Detail
09/07/11 10-*15-*0 40.00% -*3415 Detail
09/06/11 15-*14-*1 51.72% -*260 Detail
09/05/11 14-*18-*0 43.75% -*3005 Detail
09/04/11 15-*12-*2 55.56% +*1950 Detail
09/03/11 11-*17-*1 39.29% -*3080 Detail
09/02/11 15-*12-*1 55.56% +*1655 Detail
09/01/11 4-*6-*0 40.00% -*1590 Detail
Totals 244-*239-*17 50.52% -*850



Tuesday, September 20

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Chi. White Sox 0 Bot 1 Chi. White Sox -110 500
Cleveland 0 Over 8.5 500

Chi. White Sox - 7:05 PM ET Cleveland -101 500
Cleveland - Under 9 500

Tampa Bay - 7:05 PM ET Tampa Bay +160 500
NY Yankees - Under 9 500

Washington - 7:05 PM ET Washington +244 500
Philadelphia - Over 7 500

LA Angels - 7:07 PM ET Toronto -135 500
Toronto - Under 9 500

Baltimore - 7:10 PM ET Baltimore +228 500
Boston - Over 10 500

Atlanta - 7:10 PM ET Florida -107 500
Florida - Over 7.5 500

Houston - 7:10 PM ET Cincinnati -160 500
Cincinnati - Over 8 500

Milwaukee - 8:05 PM ET Milwaukee -145 500
Chi. Cubs - Over 9 500

Detroit - 8:10 PM ET Kansas City -109 500
Kansas City - Over 10 500

Seattle - 8:10 PM ET Seattle +101 500
Minnesota - Over 8 500

NY Mets - 8:15 PM ET NY Mets +161 500
St. Louis - Over 8.5 500

San Diego - 8:40 PM ET San Diego +106 500
Colorado - Over 8.5 500

Pittsburgh - 9:40 PM ET Pittsburgh +224 500
Arizona - Under 8.5 500

Texas - 10:05 PM ET Oakland +128 500
Oakland - Under 8 500

San Francisco - 10:10 PM ET San Francisco +116 500
LA Dodgers - Over 5.5 500

[StarDust Bum]

8:00 PM ETSan Antonio at Minnesota

Teams ROT Record Consensus Odds

SA 673 1-1 (0-1 V) - ( 147.5 OVER )

MIN 674 1-1 (1-0 H) - -7.5 ( SA + 7.5 )

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