Scorching Yanks seek eight straight win in test with Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The New York Yankees have solved just about all their problems during a seven-game winning streak that matches the team's longest of the season. The defending world champions will now turn their attention towards getting Javier Vazquez to become an effective starting pitcher once again when they take the field against the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon.

Vazquez was temporarily removed from New York's rotation after a poor recent stretch in which the veteran hurler went 0-2 with an 8.10 earned run average over four starts. He lasted only three innings in the last of those outings and was rocked for four runs and eight hits -- three of which were homers -- in an August 21 no-decision against light-hitting Seattle.

The offseason acquisition has performed considerably better in a pair of long relief appearances that followed that game. Vazquez delivered 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball in an August 25 matchup against the Blue Jays, then held Oakland to a run and just two hits over 4 2/3 frames to pick up a win this past Monday at Yankee Stadium.

Vazquez was also sharp in his only start against Toronto this season, which took place at the Rogers Centre on June 6. He gave up only a single hit -- a two-run homer to Vernon Wells -- and struck out a season-best nine batters in seven innings to help the Yanks to a 4-3 decision.

In 16 career games (15 starts) versus Toronto, Vazquez is 5-7 with a 3.98 ERA.

The 34-year-old probably won't have to worry about a lack of run support when he toes the rubber today. The Yankees have averaged 7.1 runs per contest over the course of their seven-game surge, which has vaulted the Bronx Bombers 1 1/2 games ahead of rival Tampa Bay for first place in the American League East as well as the best record in baseball.

New York kept up its winning ways with a 7-3 triumph in Friday's opener of this three-game series, with Curtis Granderson going 2-for-3 with three RBI to lead an 11-hit attack.

Ramiro Pena finished 2-for-4 with an RBI single and leadoff hitter Brett Gardner scored three times for the Yankees, who built a 5-1 lead after three innings and sent Toronto starter Brandon Morrow to an early exit in his final assignment of the year.

"The last week or so we've been hitting the ball pretty well and scoring some runs," Gardner stated afterward."

Morrow (10-7), slated to be shut down for the remainder of the season due to an innings limit, surrendered all five early runs on six hits and walked three batters in a shaky three-inning stint.

"It's obviously disappointing to not pitch the way I wanted to pitch in the last [start] of the season," Morrow said. "I've got a lot to build for next year and I'm going to take a lot of confidence into [spring training]."

Yankees rookie Ivan Nova also couldn't come through with a win after failing to last the required five innings, with Kerry Wood (3-4) getting credit for the decision after throwing 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Nova, making his third career start in the majors, permitted three runs on six hits over the first 4 2/3 innings.

Toronto's Travis Snider collected two hits, including a solo homer in the first inning, but that wasn't enough to prevent the Jays from a fourth loss in five games.

The Yankees, on the other hand, will be trying to win eight in a row for the first time since July 17-24, 2009. Standing in their way this afternoon will be Marc Rzepczynski, although the second-year big leaguer didn't pose much of a threat to the AL East leaders a few weeks back.

New York pounded Rzepczynski for six runs in three innings en route to an 11-5 verdict at the Rogers Centre on August 24, with Mark Teixeira, Marcus Thames and Jorge Posada all homering off the left-hander that night. He also served up three homers in a brief start at Yankee Stadium during August of last season, while allowing four runs overall on seven hits in just 3 1/3 innings of work.

Rzepczynski did strike out eight in just 5 2/3 innings in his most recent appearance, which took place Sunday against Detroit, but was also reached for four runs (three earned) in a loss that dropped him to 1-3 in six starts this season.

The 25-year-old is 0-2 with a brutal 10.22 ERA in three lifetime encounters with the Yankees and 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA over four starts since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last month.

Toronto has won seven of 13 meetings with New York so far this season, with the Yankees having taken four of seven bouts between the two divisional foes at home.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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