Tigers eye series win over White Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

09/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers try to play spoiler this afternoon and go for a series win when they wrap up a four-game set against the playoff hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.

The White Sox won the first seven games of their 10-game road trip, but have lost the last two portions of this series to the Tigers, being outscored 14-2 in the process.

On Wednesday the Tigers got back to .500, as Jeremy Bonderman pitched eight brilliant innings and Alex Avila hit a key two-run double, helping Detroit to a 5-1 win.

Bonderman (8-9) turned in perhaps his best start of the season. He matched a season high in innings pitched and struck out eight, while allowing just one run on three hits and a walk.

"Obviously they're a great team, they're in the position to make the playoffs," Bonderman said. "We're just trying to go out and play good baseball day in and day out. Doesn't matter who you play."

Avila's double came in a four-run fourth inning, during which Brandon Inge hit a two-run single. Ryan Raburn added two hits and scored twice for the Tigers, who have won the last two games in the set after dropping Monday's opener.

John Danks (13-10) took the loss after allowing five runs -- two earned -- in six innings. He gave up eight hits and walked three.

Omar Vizquel homered to provide the lone run for the White Sox, who fell to 5 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Twins after Minnesota beat Kansas City later Wednesday.

"We feel like we still have a chance," Danks said. "We're kind of shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit. The last couple nights we haven't been playing very well."

Following today's finale Chicago will start a nine-game homestand that will include a visit from the Twins.

Getting the call for the White Sox this afternoon will be right-hander Gavin Floyd, who has been terrific in his last three starts (2-1). Floyd earned a win on Saturday in Boston, holding the Red Sox to a runs and five hits in six innings to run his record to 10-11, while lowering his earned run average to 3.78.

Floyd, who has allowed just five runs in his last three starts spanning 19 2/3 innings, has been terrific in his career against the Tigers, posting a perfect 5-0 record to go along with a 3.20 ERA in 13 starts.

Detroit, meanwhile, will counter with Rick Porcello, who has won his last three starts and is 8-11 on the season with a 5.20 ERA. Porcello's latest win came on Saturday in Kansas City, as he limited the Royals to four runs and seven hits in seven innings.

While Floyd has had success against the Tigers, Porcello has had nothing but bad luck against his opponent, going 0-4 in five starts against Detroit with an 8.67 ERA.

Chicago is 5-3 in Detroit this season.

Allltheweb Baseball Betting News

<< Rangers, Blue Jays conclude set in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colby Lewis tries to put the breaks on a personal seven- game losing streak this evening when the Texas Rangers conclude a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Lewis hasn't won since Jul

<< Cardinals start series in Atlanta
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When St. Louis and Atlanta last met in April, the Cardinals ran away with a four-game sweep at Busch Stadium. They will attempt to do that again in the first of four consecutive matchups tonight from Turner Field. The Card

<< Rockies go for sweep of Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Colorado Rockies look to sweep a four-game set from the Cincinnati Reds when the two teams collide tonight in the series finale from Coors Field. Colorado has won six straight overall and recorded a 9-2 victory

<< NL West supremacy on line in San Diego
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First place in the National League West will be on the line as the top two teams in the division, San Francisco and San Diego, kick off an important four-game series tonight at Petco Park. The Padres currently lead the div

<< Brady involved in car accident
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was involved in a car accident Thursday morning in Boston. The Patriots confirmed the news on their Twitter feed and added that Brady was not hospitalized and was e

Dodgers take losing streak into Houston >>
(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 th

NBA opens office in Moscow >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Basketball Association has opened a new office in Moscow, as announced by deputy commissioner and COO Adam Silver on Thursday. Moscow joins the ever-expanding international umbrella ho

NCAA steps up and cracks down >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The old adage "better late than never" does not always ring true. However, after years of turning a blind eye to the seedy practices at play in college sports, the NCAA has recently gone on a crusade for whic

Dolphins cut C Grove; sign G Procter >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins released veteran center Jake Grove three days before the start of the 2010 regular season. Grove, 30, missed time in the preseason due to a shoulder injury and lost his starting spot to Joe

White Sox welcome back Putz from DL >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox activated reliever J.J. Putz off the 15-day disabled list on Thursday. Putz left an August 24 game against Baltimore after throwing three pitches and was diagnosed with right knee pat

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.