It might not feel like it for those who bet on the Boston Red Sox last night (victims to the largest comeback in Orioles history), but as the 2009 All Star break approaches, the BoSox have the best record in the AL, and have been a profitable play for bettors when picking their spots.
Today they hit the field trying to shake off yesterday’s collapse and win the series with Baltimore.
Josh Beckett has the ball, with his team currently set as -155 favorites at most online sportsbooks (the O’s are +135). For those looking to bet on the Over/Under the Total is set at nine.
Looking at Beckett’s numbers, the Over/Under record is worth noting, as his last 20 road starts have resulted in only six overs, while racking up 12 unders (and two pushes). He’s 12-8 in those 20 starts.
How’s Beckett done in his last six starts in Baltimore? Boston is 5-1 when he takes the mound on the road vs. the O’s.
The early betting volume has been backing the Beantowners and Beckett, as over 70 of the action has been on the visitor so far.
How are the BoSox future odds looking as we head to the All-Star break? As it stands, SPORTSBETTING.com has Boston listed at -200 to win the AL East, +175 to win the AL Pennant and +350 to win the World Series, in other words they’re sitting pretty through 76 games.
Cubs-Pirates:
Despite the hype and excitement, the Cubs haven’t delivered for their faithful through the first half of 2009. Heading into this season, they were one of the favorites of the sports betting world at the future book, as they attracted a lot of attention “To Win the NL Central” and “To Win the NL”.
They have a lot of ground to make, as they sit in fourth spot in their division after 74 games.
That said, the Cubbies are listed at relatively short price of +150 to win the division; they are also +500 to win the NL Pennant and +1200 to take the World Series.
The Cubs will try to improve their record when they close out their current series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Randy Wells will get the start for the Cubbies who are favored at -135 and Virgil Vasquez takes the mound for the Pirates, who are +115; the Total is set at 8.5.
Both pitchers are rookies (In his first year in the majors, Wells is 2-3 SU on the road but his last two games have seen the Cubs go 2-0, while Vasquez’s last home start resulted in a 5-3 win for Pittsburgh over Kansas City).
While the Los Angeles Dodgers are the class of the NL West, the San Francisco Giants are in hot pursuit, sitting six-games behind—the Giants are listed at +1000 to win the division.
San Francisco is at St. Louis tonight and the Giants will send Matt Cain to the mound while the Cardinals will counter with Adam Wainwright—the Giants are listed at +118 while the Cards are favored at -138.
The Giants are 12-8 SU in their last 20 games in St. Louis and are currently riding a four-game road winning streak against the Cards.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are amongst the worst teams, not only in the NL West but in all of the MLB as well.
Sitting at 31-46 SU, the D-backs are sitting at the bottom of their division and only three spots out of the MLB basement.
Arizona will play the Cincinnati Reds in the second game of a three-game set and are +140 tonight and the Over/Under is set at 8.5.
The Diamondbacks are 10-10 SU in their last 20 games against the Reds but in their last eight road games in Cincinnati however, Arizona is only 2-6 SU against the Reds.
Jon Garland gets the start for Arizona and in his last 20 road games he is 11-9 but he is amidst a four-game road losing streak.
The Diamondbacks “Under” might be worth a look, as they have a mark of four overs, 14 unders and two pushes in their last 20 trips to Cincinnati.
Good luck with today’s baseball and Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian friends (we hope the NHL free agency market is good to you today).
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