Dodgers take losing streak into Houston

Baseball Betting Lines

09/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to avoid a season-high sixth consecutive loss this evening when they open a four-game series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

The Dodgers' playoff chances took a big hit this week, as they dropped two of three at home to the San Francisco Giants, then lost all three games of their series to the National League West-leading San Diego Padres, falling 4-0 on Wednesday to drop 11 games back of the division leaders.

Matt Kemp doubled for the Dodgers, who have dropped seven of eight to fall two games below .500 (69-71). Chad Billingsley (11-9) surrendered four runs, six hits and five walks in just 5 1/3 frames to take the loss.

"(Billingsley) certainly deserved a better fate, but we didn't score any runs," said Los Angeles manager Joe Torre.

Tonight, the Dodgers will turn to lefty Ted Lilly, who is 8-9 on the season with a 3.55 earned run average. Lilly did not get a decision on Saturday against the Giants, as he allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings of his team's 5-4 loss.

Since being acquired from the Cubs, Lilly has gone 5-1 with a 3.18 ERA over seven starts.

Lilly has dominated the Astros over the course of his career, going 7-1 against them with a 2.19 ERA in 12 starts.

Lilly will be opposed by righty Bud Norris, who is winless in his last three starts. Norris did not get a decision on Saturday in Arizona, but was hit hard, as he surrendered five runs and eight hits with three walks in just 4 2/3 innings of his team's 6-5 triumph. He is 6-8 on the year with a 5.34 ERA.

Norris lost to the Dodgers the only other time he faced them, allowing six runs in 4 1/3 frames back on May 18.

Houston comes into tonight's tilt red-hot after taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs. On Wednesday, Brett Myers struck out eight in seven shutout innings to continue his dominance of the Cubs and lead the Astros to a 4-0 win.

Myers (11-7) allowed just three hits and walked one, improving to 3-0 in four starts against Chicago this season. He has given up only four earned runs in those outings (1.21 ERA) and struck out 34 in 29 2/3 innings.

Additionally, Myers extended his franchise record by pitching at least six innings for the 29th consecutive start.

Houston got a home run from Hunter Pence and run-scoring hits out of Humberto Quintero and Chris Johnson to win for the fourth time in five games and for the eighth time in its last 10 tries.

"Every time he goes out there, as you've seen, he's given us six innings or more every outing," Pence said of Myers. "Just gives you a great chance to win. He competes, he knows what he's doing out there. It's fun to play behind him."

The Dodgers swept a two-game series from the Astros back in May.

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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%.

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