Friday's Trends and Indexes - 8/17 (MLB, WNBA, CFL, Misc.)

[Udog]

MLB
Short Sheet

Friday, August 17

National League

NY Mets at Washington, 7:05 ET
Santana: Mets 13-26 SU in the second half of the season
Detwiler: 7-0 TSR vs. division opponents

Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati, 7:10 ET
Wood: Cubs 16-42 SU in road games
Arroyo: Cincinati 13-2 SU at home after winning 4 of their last 5 games

LA Dodgers at Atlanta, 7:35 ET
Capuano: Dodgers 21-12 Over away with a line of -125 to +125
Hanson: 12-2 TSR pitching off a team win

Arizona at Houston, 8:05 ET
Miley: Arizona 11-2 Under away off 3+ games scoring 3 runs or less
Keuchel: Houston 10-40 SU off BB road games

Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 8:10 ET
Worley: Philadelphia 27-8 SU away in August
Gallardo: Milwaukee 13-23 SU after the bullpen allowed 0 runs

Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 8:15 ET
McDonald: Pittsburgh 12-5 SU away off 5+ home games
Westbrook: 8-16 TSR at home after allowing 1 or 0 ER's last start

Miami at Colorado, 8:40 ET
LeBlanc: Miami 7-18 SU after losing 4 or 5 of their last 6 games
Francis: 9-3 TSR in night games

San Francisco at San Diego, 10:05 ET
Cain: San Francisco 27-10 SU as a favorite of -125 to -175
Ohlendorf: San Diego 3-20 SU off BB games scoring 1 or 0 runs


American League

Texas at Toronto, 7:05 ET MLB
Darvish: Texas 20-4 SU as a road favorite of -150 to -175
Happ: Toronto 10-22 SU after scoring 2 runs or less

Baltimore at Detroit, 7:05 ET
Hunter: Baltimore 10-4 SU away vs. AL Central opponents
Verlander: Detroit 5-12 SU at home off 6+ road games

Boston at NY Yankees, 7:05 ET MLB
Morales: Boston 16-23 SU after losing 2 of their last 3 games
Hughes: 16-1 TSR at home pitching off a team loss

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 8:10 ET
Sale: White Sox 13-4 SU away in August
Mendoza: Kansas City 10-19 SU at home off 3+ home games

Cleveland at Oakland, 10:05 ET
McAllister: Cleveland 5-15 SU with a total of 7 runs or less
Milone: Oakland 11-2 SU off 6+ road games

Tampa Bay at LA Angels, 10:05 ET
Shields: Tampa Bay 13-3 Under as an underdog of +150 or higher
Weaver: 11-1 TSR as a home favorite of -125 to -175

Minnesota at Seattle, 10:10 ET
Blackburn: 9-24 TSR vs. AL West opponents
Iwakuma: Seattle 17-9 SU off BB games hitting 0 home runs

[Udog]

NASCAR betting: Pure Michigan 400 preview

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a frustrating few weeks. After climbing to the top of the point standings, Earnhardt finished outside the lead lap at Watkins Glen and Pocono; this after finishing on the lead lap in the season’s first 20 races.

Last week at the Glen Earnhardt was on his way to a top 10 finish, something that would have been quite an accomplishment considering his record on road courses, but a late race mistake cost him; he came home off the lead lap and out of the points lead after only two weeks.

Earnhardt and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series head back for the second stop of the season at Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400. For Earnhardt it’s an excellent chance to overcome the past weeks frustrations.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrated his first win in 143 races at Michigan in June.
Photo credit: Getty Images
In June Earnhardt broke a four year, 143 race winless streak charging to victory here. Earnhardt wants to repeat that victory lane trip and plans to be aggressive Sunday.

“The track has always been fun for me. Even had I not won any races there, it’s just a really fun track,” said Earnhardt. “That’s the kind of race track you hope and pray to build. I think over time the surface will age and we’ll get back to widening up the surface quite a bit.”

With a Chase berth all but locked up, Earnhardt now wants to add race wins to gather the all important bonus points.

“On the way to getting that done, you want to win more races and we were really conservative all year long,” he said. “We feel like that in the position we are in now, we can gamble a lot more.”

Like Earnhardt, Denny Hamlin had a less than memorable finish at the Glen last week. Unlike Earnhardt, Hamlin is far from locked into the Chase. He’s tenth in the standings barely clinging to a spot in the Chase. But Hamlin has won two of the last five races here. In last year’s race, Hamlin suffered mechanical woes that left him laps down and he was caught up in a crash in the June race and will be looking for redemption this week. If Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs team can keep it together, Hamlin should shine Sunday.

Hamlin’s teammate at JGR, Kyle Busch was dominant for most of the race last week at the Glen. He wasn’t able to seal the deal however and lost in the closing laps. He’s the defending winner of this race, but he too had a terrible finish here in June. Busch however is looking to overcome that past adversity and could do so Sunday.

Tony Stewart is also coming off a rotten finish at the Glen. He was second here in June and could easily break a winless streak at Michigan dating back to 2000 Sunday.

Keep an eye on: Matt Kenseth and his Roush-Fenway teammate Greg Biffle finished third and fourth here in June. Once a force here, Fords have not won at Michigan since 2008. Any one of Jack Roush’s cars, including Carl Edwards, could take the checkered flag.

Party Crasher: Michigan is one of five active tracks that Jimmie Johnson has yet to win at (the others are Watkins Glen, Chicagoland, Homestead and Kentucky). Johnson was second in this race last year and fifth in June. With the momentum he and his Hendrick Motorsports team has been on of late, it would be no surprise if Johnson checks MIS off his winless record Sunday.

“We had a really strong car there (at the June race) and I’m excited to go back,” Johnson said. “Late in the race I was running down the leaders and I blistered a right rear tire. But, I understand that a great tire test took place at the track recently and they didn’t see any issues. So I feel like things are fixed and I’m looking forward to going back because I know we’re going to be strong. The way we’ve been running on the ovals and also with our performance at Michigan in the spring, even though we blistered a tire, I really feel like I can win there and make that list one shorter for the tracks we haven’t won on. I really feel this is our best chance ever.”

Bottom Line: 66 of 86 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 46 from the first four spots.

The deepest in the field a race winner has started was 32nd, by Mark Martin in the June race of 2009.

Odds to win Pure Michigan 400 (Courtesy of *** Global)

Jimmie Johnson 6-1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7-1
Tony Stewart 7-1
Kyle Busch 7-1
Denny Hamlin 10-1
Greg Biffle 10-1
Matt Kenseth 10-1
Carl Edwards 10-1
Brad Keselowski 12-1
Jeff Gordon 12-1
Kasey Kahne 15-1
Kevin Harvick 20-1
Martin Truex Jr. 25-1
Mark Martin 25-1
Clint Bowyer 30-1
Ryan Newman 50-1
Joey Lagano 60-1
Jamie McMurray 100-1
Sam Hornish, Jr. 100-1
Paul Menard 100-1
Jeff Burton 100-1
Kurt Busch 100-1
Juan Montoya 100-1
Marcos Ambrose 100-1
Regan Smith 200-1
Trevor Bayne 300-1
Aric Almirola 300-1
David Ragan 300-1
Bobby Labonte 300-1
Field (Any Other Driver) 50-1

[Udog]

Best and worst NFL preseason Week 2 bets

NFL bettors got their first full taste of football last week with the preseason schedule on the go. Week 1 is a small sample of things to come while Week 2 offers a clearer picture of what teams are all about.

Heading into the second slate of tune-up tilts, we take a look at the best and worst bets in Week 2 of the preseason, digging all the way back to 1995.

Best Week 2 preseason bets

Green Bay Packers (12-4 SU, 12-4 ATS)

The Cheeseheads have been outstanding in Week 2 of the preseason since 1995, probably because they’ve only had two starting quarterbacks in that span. Aaron Rodgers, who followed Brett Favre in Green Bay, is 3-1 SU and ATS in Week 2 of the preseason since taking over the starting gig. The Packers are 4-point faves hosting the Browns Thursday.

San Diego Chargers (10-6 SU, 12-4 ATS)

San Diego is super charged in Week 2 of the warm-up slate. The Bolts are just 3-3 SU in Week 2 of the preseason during the Philip Rivers era, but have come away with a 4-2 ATS mark in that span. The Chargers play host to the Cowboys – more on them below - Saturday night.

Dallas Cowboys (8-8 SU, 10-6 ATS)

Whatever adjustments Dallas makes between Week 1 and Week 2 are working. The Cowboys are the worst Week 1 preseason play with a 4-13 ATS count since 1995. However, America’s Team starts to find its footing in the second exhibition contest. Since 2006, when Tony Romo took over as the starter, Dallas is 4-2 SU and ATS in Week 2, losing and failing to cover against San Diego in Week 2 last season.


Worst Week 2 preseason bets

Kansas City Chiefs (5-11 SU, 4-12 ATS)

Kansas City looked good in its Week 1 date with Arizona, jumping out to a quick lead and covering as a 2-point favorite. The Chiefs are aiming to carry that momentum into Week 2’s game at St. Louis as 1-point underdogs. They’ve not won or covered in a Week 2 preseason game since 2004, when they beat none other than the Rams, 24-7, as 4-point home favorites.

St. Louis Rams (6-10 SU, 4-12 ATS)

Something’s got to give when St. Louis hosts Kansas City Saturday. The Rams are equally as bad a bet in Week 2 of the preseason over the last 16 campaigns and are coming off a Week 1 beatdown by Indianapolis. St. Louis is a dismal 3-5 SU and 1-7 ATS in Week 2 of the preseason over the past eight years.

Carolina Panthers (5-11 SU, 5-11 ATS)

Are you seeing a pattern yet? It seems like traditionally poor teams perform poorly in Week 2 of the preseason, and the Panthers are not exception. Carolina stumbled in Week 2’s exhibition game last summer and lost its 2012 opener to Houston Saturday. That makes the Panthers 1-3 SU and ATS in the preseason since tagging Cam Newton as the face of the franchise.

[BettorsChat]

Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you posting this info!

[Udog]

Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you posting this info!

Thanks, BC! Good to see you!