Weekend of Wagering Possibilities

It’s a rather light weekend in terms of variety concerning sports wagering. No major boxing or MMA fights to speak. NASCAR is gearing up for next week’s Brickyard 400 and NFL preseason football is still a few weeks away. That is not to say the landscape i

2009-07-21

It’s a rather light weekend in terms of variety concerning sports wagering. No major boxing or MMA fights to speak. NASCAR is gearing up for next week’s Brickyard 400 and NFL preseason football is still a few weeks away. That is not to say the landscape is barren, with a number of Major League Baseball contests to ponder over the next couple of days, along with WNBA action. Of course, there are always football futures to partake in as well. Get the latest opportunities on the LIVE ODDS page.

The Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees are both in the playoff hunt this season. The Tigers lead the AL Central and these are the only road games they are playing among 15 contests which started back on July 6. Manager Jim Leyland will need his offense to have some bite, as they are averaging only 4.1 runs per game on the road. The new Yankee Stadium has been a run mecca and the Bronx Bombers started the weekend tied with Texas for most home runs in baseball. Saturday’s matchup has a revitalized All-Star Edwin Jackson (7-4, 2.52 ERA) facing C.C. Sabathia (8-6, 3.86), with Sunday featuring two hard throwers, Justin Verlander (10-4, 3.38) and Joba Chamberlain (4-2, 4.25). Both games are afternoon contests, with the Tigers 21-10 and the Yankees 19-15 playing in natural light.

Though the Oakland A’s are not having the kind of year they expected, one of baseball’s most unheralded rivalries is the Angels and Athletics. The two organizations have opposite viewpoints about how to run franchise and the chasm between the income each generates is about the distance in miles between the two teams. Oakland’s front office decided to bring up all its young pitchers at once, looking for the next Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito trio. With two games already in the books in this heated four-game series, more youngsters will throw for the A’s. Saturday’s game has 22-year old Vin Mazzaro (2-5, 3.59) taking the ball and Sunday, 21-year old Brett Anderson (5-7, 4.64) climbs the hill for Oakland, who is 9-12 the last three seasons hosting the Angels. The Halos will counter with veterans, Jered Weaver (10-3, 3.22) in Game 3 and John Lackey (4-4. 4.93) to close out the series. The Los Angeles offense has been heavenly even without Vlad Guerrero and Torii Hunter who are on DL. The Angels have the finest batting average in the game and are second in runs scored.

Though it’s only July, Philadelphia is creating separation in the NL East. They will look to continue that trend at Florida, who is their closest competitor. The Phillies are fantastic 27-15 on the road in 2009, totaling over 5.5 runs per game in traveling uniforms. The Marlins are trying to keep pace, however don’t have as many weapons as Philly. Expect Florida to be solid favorite with Josh Johnson (8-2, 2.74) on the mound Saturday, with role reversal Sunday, with unbeaten J.A. Happ (6-0, 2.90) hurling for the Phils. One aspect every baseball bettor has to consider in this series is home/road dichotomy of the two bullpens. The Phillies pen has 3.52 road ERA and the Fish have bloated 5.13 ERA at Landshark Stadium.

Also on Saturday, Johan Santana (10-7, 3.09) will pitch in Atlanta. The All-Star lefty is a notoriously strong second half pitcher and the Mets will need him and more to make run at Philadelphia.

On Sunday, if you are fan of top notch pitching, the matchup of Jon Lester (8-6, 3.87) and Roy Halladay (10-3, 2.85) should suffice. Lester has found his groove, allowing three runs or fewer in each of his past eight starts. Doc has been Doc and is 6-2 at the Rogers Centre. Somewhat surprisingly, these two chuckers are 18-15-2 combined favoring the Over this campaign.

Sportsbook.com will have wagers for the British Open which continues this weekend and Gold Cup soccer options are also available.

WNBA action continues with two games on Saturday and five more on Sunday. Phoenix (11-4, 10-4-1 ATS) will be without star guard Diana Taurasi, who has been suspended by team for DUI. The Mercury will face Detroit (4-7 SU and ATS), who is the only team that has to play both days.

Be sure to pick your spots and enjoy your wagering weekend.