Injury-depleted Tigers continue set at the Trop

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers are hurting, both on the field and in the American League playoff race.

Faced with the prospect of their longest road losing streak in nearly five years, the battered and badly-struggling Tigers continue a four-game series with the formidable Tampa Bay Rays tonight at Tropicana Field.

Detroit lost for the ninth straight time as the visitor and suffered its 11th defeat in its last 14 overall contests with Tuesday's 3-2 setback to Tampa Bay. That result followed up a 5-0 Rays' victory on Monday in which Matt Garza threw the first no-hitter in franchise history.

The Tigers, playing without three key regulars in right fielder Magglio Ordonez (fractured right ankle), third baseman Brandon Inge (broken hand) and second baseman Carlos Guillen (calf strain), did manage 12 hits in last night's contest but stranded 11 baserunners. The team has averaged a paltry 2.8 runs over the course of their rough 14-game stretch.

Tampa Bay, on the other hand, won for the fourth straight time and closed within two games of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East with last night's verdict. James Shields delivered 6 2/3 strong innings to lead the way for the Rays, while Matt Joyce snapped a 2-2 tie with a clutch RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.

Shields held the Tigers to two runs and struck out seven before giving way to the Tampa bullpen, with four relievers combining for 2 1/3 scoreless frames to protect the one-run edge.

"I felt I had good command of my stuff tonight," said Shields afterward. "I had my fastball working and that sets up everything else."

Detroit made it interesting in the top of the ninth, however, by loading the bases with one out against Rafael Soriano. The Rays closer got out of the jam, however, by getting Miguel Cabrera to hit into a game-ending double play.

"[Third baseman Evan] Longoria did a great job to help turn that double play," Shields remarked. It was just a real good win for us."

Tigers ace Justin Verlander (12-6) went the distance in a losing cause, with the All-Star hurler allowing three runs on just five hits and striking out six.

Detroit dropped to four games behind first-place Chicago in the AL Central standings and is now a subpar 16-31 away from home. The nine straight road losses are the team's most since a 10-game skid from September 16-October 2, 2005.

Spot starter Eddie Bonine will attempt to get Detroit back in a winning groove when he takes the mound tonight. The versatile right-hander has worked exclusively in middle relief this season, but is needed to begin this game with the Tigers' rotation having been altered by a doubleheader this past Sunday.

Bonine has performed extremely well in his bullpen role, having generated a 4-0 record with a 2.72 earned run average in 31 appearances while holding opposing hitters to a .241 average. He's made nine starts for Detroit over the previous two seasons and gone 3-2 with a 4.38 ERA in those contests.

The 29-year-old's only previous encounter with the Rays came in relief, with Bonine tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings in a matchup at Tropicana Field last September.

Jeff Niemann draws the assignment for Tampa Bay this evening and will be aiming to bounce back from a loss in his latest start. The towering right- hander allowed just two runs over five innings this past Friday at Cleveland, but was outdueled by the Indians' Fausto Carmona in a rain-shortened 3-1 setback.

Niemann has come out on top more often than not in his second full major league season, as the former first-round draft pick has posted an 8-3 record along with a sound 2.95 ERA in 20 starts. The Rays are an impressive 15-5 in those games. The Rice product is just 3-2 in 10 Tropicana Field appearances this year, but owns a 2.44 ERA during that stretch.

Although the 27-year-old has yet to beat the Tigers over the course of his career, he's surrendered only four runs in a combined 17 2/3 innings in two starts and one relief stint against Detroit. Niemann had a pair of no- decisions versus the Tigers last season, including a showdown in St. Petersburg in September in which he gave up one run while lasting 7 2/3 innings.

Detroit had prevailed in eight of their last 11 meetings with Tampa Bay prior to Garza's no-hitter on Monday and swept a three-game set in their lone trip to Tropicana Field last season.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.