Mariners hope to get on a roll under Brown against Athletics

Baseball Betting Lines

08/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Seattle Mariners manager Daren Brown got to see a triple play and six solid innings from his starting pitcher in last night's win versus the visiting Oakland Athletics at Safeco Field.

Brown hopes his players will be ready for an encore performance Tuesday in the second installment of this three-game series. Brown took over for fired manager Don Wakamatsu before Monday's 3-1 win and was the skipper of Seattle's Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma for the past four seasons. He has managed in the Mariners system since 2001.

Doug Fister welcomed his new manager by throwing six innings of one-run ball and striking out five for the win, while Sean White, Brandon League and David Aardsma each threw a scoreless inning of relief to preserve Seattle's second straight win and improve its mark to 4-3 on this nine-game homestand.

"For the first one for me, it's kind of how you'd want to draw it up," Brown said. "(Your) starter gives you six innings, I thought Fister was really good, then White, League and Aardsma (were) outstanding out of the pen."

Jose Lopez, Franklin Gutierrez and Josh Wilson were each credited with an RBI for the Mariners, who turned the 10th triple play in team history during the fourth inning. Jack Cust led off with a single and Kevin Kouzmanoff walked before Mark Ellis hit a chopper to Jose Lopez at third. Lopez fielded the ball and immediately stepped on the base for a force out. He then threw to Chone Figgins at second and he wheeled to first baseman Casey Kotchman to complete the around-the-horn triple play.

Ellis argued the call to no avail. The 5-4-3 triple play was Seattle's first since July 13, 1995 against Toronto. It hopes ace Felix Hernandez can snap out of his funk when he takes the mound this evening. Hernandez is 0-4 with a 2.70 ERA over his past five starts and previously pitched in last Thursday's 6-0 loss to Texas. He allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings and the Mariners haven't scored in each of the right-hander's last two starts.

Hernandez is 7-9 in 24 starts this season and will make his 17th career start against the A's. King Felix is 8-4 with a 3.05 earned run average over the first 16 matchups with Oakland.

The Athletics had won two straight and three of four games before last night's loss. Starter Vin Mazzaro saw a decent outing go to waste and gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks over seven innings of work.

Rajai Davis drove in the lone run for the A's, who got two hits apiece from Coco Crisp and Jack Cust.

"Tonight's a frustrating loss, they're all frustrating, but we feel we're playing pretty good baseball," said Ellis.

Taking the hill for Oakland, which is eight games behind Texas for the NL West lead, tonight will be Brett Anderson. He is 3-2 with a 3.14 earned run average in eight starts this season and is coming off a strong performance against Kansas City last Wednesday. He held the Royals to a pair of runs and three hits in seven innings of a 4-3 victory.

Anderson, a left-hander, is 3-2 in seven career starts against Seattle.

Oakland is 6-4 against Seattle this season, but the Mariners own an 18-11 ledger in the past 29 meetings between the two clubs.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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