Weekend of Wagering Possibilities

The calendar flips to August, which means football is coming. Hold on, take it easy, most NFL camps are just opening up and college football teams haven’t reported, were a little bit away, which means we can still thoroughly enjoy sports betting aspects

2009-07-31

The calendar flips to August, which means football is coming. Hold on, take it easy, most NFL camps are just opening up and college football teams haven’t reported, were a little bit away, which means we can still thoroughly enjoy sports betting aspects on the current menu to whet the appetite. The San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia series is a fine place to start dissecting numbers. (Be certain to review all the latest information for this weekend’s wagering events by visiting the LIVE ODDS, BETTING TRENDS, and TEAM STATISTICS pages.

Saturday will the third of four games in the series, with the stakes increasing with two months left in the season. The Phillies are in control of the NL East, while the Giants are on the lead lap for the wild card. What makes this series even more compelling is Philly has the best record in baseball for a road team at 31-17, with San Fran the best home team at 35-15. Game 3 has scintillating pitching matchup with Joe Blanton (7-4, 4.11 ERA) facing current Cy Young winner, Tim Lincecum (11-2, 2.30). In July, Blanton had 1.21 ERA, with Phillies winning all four games. Lincecum hasn’t slowed at all and has nine straight games of eight or more strikeouts. Can you say UNDER the total! Sunday’s contest has a pair of left-handers, Cole Hamels (7-5, 4.42) versus Barry Zito (6-10, 4.54).

In the Windy City, the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox continue their series. The Yankees realize the season will come down to battling with Boston in September, while the White Sox are trying to gain some ground on front-running Detroit in the AL Central. Chicago is 30-11 against the money line at U.S. Cellular Field vs. an average bullpen whose ERA is 3.75 to 4.50, which they exploited in the opener Thursday. Sunday’s pitching matchup should be riveting, with C.C. Sabathia (10-7, 3.83) facing Mr. Perfect, Mark Buehrle (11-4, 3.45). Sabathia has allowed opponents to bat .317 against him in last four starts; however he is 14-4 with a 3.65 ERA vs. Chicago. Buehrle, earlier this week set a Major League record by retiring 45 consecutive hitters, but is 1-5 record with a 6.11 ERA lifetime against the Yankees. Review all the possibilities at Sportsbook.com.

The Los Angeles Dodgers road trip continues in Atlanta. The Dodgers could have used another starting pitcher before the trade deadline, but settled for reliever George Sherrill. They will have two of their better starters toeing the slap the rest of the weekend, with Randy Wolf (5-5, 3.43) and Chad Billingsley (10-6, 3.96). The Braves are trying to play their way into better wild card position, but are 1-7 at home vs. NL team with a team batting average of .275 or better. Former Dodger Derek Lowe (10-7, 4.20) and Jair Jurrjens (9-7, 2.69) are the scheduled pitchers for Atlanta.

On Sunday, it’s off to Pocono Raceway for the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500. Tony Stewart is a 4/1 choice to repeat at Pocono, having won there in May. This “roval” track has long straight-aways and tight turns, making it similar to The Brickyard. A reasonable long-shot to consider is Kurt Busch, who has had the most fastest laps (229) at Pocono in the last five years. This promises to be enjoyable race.

The Buick Open continues on the PGA Tour, with the PGA Championship not too far off in the distance. The action continues in the WNBA with seven selections to choose from, with the conference races heating up. Plus, north of the border in CFL action, Winnipeg (1-3, 2-2 ATS) travels to Toronto (2-2 SU & ATS) and Saskatchewan (2-2 SU & ATS) heads over to Calgary (2-2 SU & ATS).

For those you just too impatient to wait, here you are. Tennessee is early line choice of -3, with total of 31 against Buffalo in next Sunday’s Hall of Fame game.

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