05/15/2008 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Laffey threw seven solid innings and the Indians continued their mastery on the mound until holding on in the ninth during a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics to complete a three-game sweep.
Jhonny Peralta homered and scored three times for Cleveland, which has allowed just six runs in its last seven games. Ben Francisco had three hits and an RBI for the Indians, who outscored the A's, 10-2, during the series.
Cleveland starting pitchers had gone 44 1/3 consecutive innings without giving up a run until Laffey's throwing error scored Bobby Crosby in the second. It was the first run allowed by the Indians since the sixth inning of last Friday's game against Toronto. That marked the longest streak by an Indians staff since the 1948 squad went 47 frames without giving up a run.
Laffey (2-2) allowed five hits and an unearned run, while walking one and logging six strikeouts. Jensen Lewis worked around a single to Rajai Davis in the eighth before Rafael Betancourt had trouble in the ninth. Masahide Kobayashi escaped a jam in the ninth to get his second save.
During Cleveland's 6-1 homestand, Indians starting pitchers gave up just two runs, including one earned. The starters went 6-0 with a 0.16 ERA during that span.
Because of Laffey's error, Cleveland starters haven't given up an earned run in the last 50 1/3 innings.
Greg Smith (2-3) was charged with the loss after surrendering seven hits and three runs over 4 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old lefty walked three and had seven strikeouts.
The Indians barely held on in the ninth. Jack Cust and Crosby singled with one out, and Jack Hannahan walked to load the bases. Kobayashi's wild pitch then made it 4-2, but he struck out pinch-hitters Mike Sweeney and Ryan Sweeney to end the game.
Peralta legged out an infield hit with one out in the first and scored later in the inning on Ryan Garko's double down the right field line.
Crosby and Hannahan singled to begin the second, and after Donnie Murphy struck out, Rob Bowen hit a weak grounder toward the mound. Laffey charged the ball, but threw wide of first baseman Garko with the ball sailing into right field. With runners at the corners later in the frame, Davis was caught stealing to end the inning.
The Indians regained the lead at 3-1 in the third. Grady Sizemore was hit by a pitch and Peralta walked before Francisco singled to left for an RBI. One out later, Travis Hafner singled to center to drive in Peralta.
Peralta led off the seventh with a homer to left off Santiago Casilla. Immediately after giving up the homer, Casilla was seen shaking his right arm in discomfort, and was removed from the game in favor of Chad Gaudin.
Game Notes
The A's play at Atlanta for three games this weekend, while the Indians are in Cincinnati...The 44 1/3 inning streak was the longest since the 1974 Baltimore Orioles starters went 54 frames of scoreless ball...Laffey hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 21 innings (3 starts).
<< Green, Singh share Irish Open lead
Adare, Limerick, Ireland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Green and Jeev Milkha
Singh opened with matching rounds of six-under-par 66 Thursday to share the
lead after the first round of the Irish Open at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf
Res
<< Federer, Nadal, Djokovic ease into Hamburg QFs
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The world's top-three stars --
Swiss Roger Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic -- were
all straight-set third-round winners Thursday at the $2.955 million
Masters
<< Shoulder injury to sideline Cavs' Gibson
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson will
miss the next 1-2 weeks of action due to a shoulder injury, possibly keeping
him out the remainder of the playoffs.
Gibson left Wednesday's 96-89 loss at Bost
<< Queen Justine bids farewell
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of tennis' greatest champions abruptly
called it a career this week, as Justine Henin decided she'd had enough of the
tennis lifestyle at only 25 years of age.
Much like Bjorn Borg in the early 1980s,
Celtic legend Burns dies at 51 >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic legend Tommy Burns, 51, died on
Thursday morning after losing his long battle with cancer.
The former Scotland international, who played more than 400 games for Celtic
between 1975 and 1989, h
United's Ferdinand officially signs five-year deal >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United defender Rio
Ferdinand has finally signed a new five-year contract which will effectively
keep him at Old Trafford for the rest of his career.
The 29-year-old England inte
Rockies' Cook, Francis on opposite ends >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook is responsible
for 40 percent of his team's wins this season. Now raise your hand if you
thought that would be the circumstance by mid-May.
If you did raise your hand then
Energie signs coach Prasnikar to extension >>
Cottbus, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Energie Cottbus coach Bojan Prasnikar has
signed a new contract running until the summer of 2010 after guiding the club
to Bundesliga survival.
The Slovenian was drafted in by Cottbus in September to ta
American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.