Pirates go for sweep of Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

04/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Marlins haven't managed many runs versus the Pirates and they haven't even faced their top pitcher yet. Pittsburgh's Paul Maholm looks to extend his torrid start today in the finale of a three-game set with Florida at PNC Park.

Maholm is 2-0 with a 0.87 earned run average through three starts, allowing two earned runs over 20 2/3 innings. He has won back-to-back starts, including Friday versus Atlanta when he tossed seven shutout innings, working around four hits and three walks.

The left-hander brings a career 2-3 mark and 4.40 ERA in five starts versus the Marlins into today's game. He has struggled versus Florida's Hanley Ramirez, who is hitting .385 (5-for-13) versus Maholm with a pair of homers.

Dan Uggla, meanwhile, is hitting just .231 (3-for-13) against the lefty, but has homered twice off him as well.

The Marlins will hope their double play combination can get to Maholm today. Florida has scored just twice in its current set with Pittsburgh, losing Monday's opener 8-0 before a 3-2 setback on Tuesday.

Jeff Karstens (1-0) pitched six innings of one-run ball and Freddy Sanchez went 3-for-4 with a solo homer in the victory. Matt Capps tossed a scoreless ninth to collect his fourth save of the year and Adam LaRoche and Jason Jaramillo also knocked in a run apiece for the Pirates, who have won four of five overall and are 5-3 on a nine-game homestand.

Jaramillo, who has played in just four major league games, figures to be in line for more time after the Pirates placed starting catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday due to a fractured scaphoid bone in his right wrist. He is scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday an is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks.

Ramirez had an RBI double and Cameron Maybin hammered a solo home run to account for the Marlins runs. Florida has dropped two straight after winning the previous seven games and is now 6-2 on its nine-game road trip.

Jorge Cantu missed the game with a sore hand and was replaced by Ross Gload, who finished 1-for-4.

Anibal Sanchez (1-1) took the loss after surrendering three runs on seven hits, striking out six in seven frames.

A 15-game winner last year, Ricky Nolasco will try to get his season on track today. The Marlins right-hander is 1-1 in three starts, but has allowed 11 runs in 15 innings for a 6.60 ERA.

He faced Washington on Friday and lasted only four innings, getting charged with seven hits and two runs in a no-decision.

Nolasco is 1-2 with a 1.99 ERA in five games (3 starts) versus the Pirates. LaRoche is hitting just .176 (3-for-17) off him with three strikeouts, while Sanchez is just 2-for-9 against him lifetime.

The Pirates lost three of five to the Marlins last year, but can sweep the club in three games for the first time since July 16-18, 2004.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.