Thursday's Betting Tips
Covers.com
Weather watch
Thunderstorms are in the forecast for Kauffman Stadium, where the Royals host the Rangers Thursday. There’s a 70 percent chance of showers in the later hours of the evening, which could soak the later innings.
Betting news and notes
The Marlins are a staggering 17 games under .500 in manager Ozzie Guillen’s first year at the helm. Miami has just two victories during a nine-game homestand that ends Thursday. The Fish are -122 home faves for the series finale with the Brewers.
The Nationals are trying to complete their second four-game sweep in a month. They swept four from Houston from Aug. 6-9, with P Jordan Zimmermann winning the final game of the series. Zimmermann hit a career high for wins back on Aug. 9, but he is winless in four starts since and he's coming off his worst outing of the year. Washington is a -230 favorite in Chicago Thursday.
Pittsburgh has won its last four Big East openers, and five of its last six. Panthers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven meetings with Thursday’s opponent, Cincinnati, and 20-7 ATS in their last 27 conference contests. Pitt is a 4-point road underdog Thursday.
Tomas Berdych upset Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Wednesday. He’s priced at +900 to win the final Grand Slam of the season. Novak Djokovic is the favorite at -125.
Browns CB Joe Haden is expected to play versus the Eagles in Week 1 with his four-game ban for a positive drug test expected to start in Week 2. Haden is one of the better shutdown corners in the NFL and will be assigned to Eagles WR DeSean Jackson. Cleveland is a 9-point underdog versus Philadelphia in Week 1.
Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia is expected to return behind home plate for Friday’s game against the Red Sox. Arencibia missed time due to a fractured hand suffered on July 25.
Five Things You Need to Know for Thurs., Sept. 6
Atssportsline.com
Five Things You Need to Know in Sports
Want to start your sports day off right? Looking for some action and the most interesting events of the day? There is a full baseball schedule and one college game on Thursday night. Here is a brief look at the top four important matchups of the day along with a glance at future odds.
1)Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, Nippert Stadium from Cincinnati. 8pmET (ESPN)
Pittsburgh visits Nippert Stadium on Thursday to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats at 8pmET in a Big East matchup. This is the first game of the season for Cincinnati and second for Pittsburgh, who lost to Applachian State in their opener. That was Paul Chryst's first game as head coach for Pitt. Last year, Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh on the road, 26-23, giving 3'. Bearcats are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in September,Cincinnati is a 4-point favorite and the total is 48.5.
2)New York Yankees at Baltimore, David Phelps (3-4, 3.13) vs. Jason Hammel (8-6, 3.90 ERA), 7:05pmET
Here is the biggest game of the night. Before Wednesday night's results, the Orioles were tied with the Yankees for the AL East lead. The Yankees are coming off a tougher series against the Rays, while Baltimore faced the sliding Toronto Blue Jays on the road. Jason Hammel returns to the mound for Baltimore, if missing about 2 months with a knee injury. On Sept. 1, Phelps last just 4 2/3 IP against Baltimore in a 4-3 loss. Yankees are 0-5-1 Under last 6 road games. The Yankees opened as a -120 favorite and the total opened at 9.
3)Colorado at Atlanta, Jhoulys Chacin (2-4, 4.85 ERA) vs. Tim Hudson (13-5, 3.76ERA), 12:10pmET
Chacin has pitched very well since coming off the DL so this is no walk-in-the-park for Atlanta. He's only given up three runs overall in his last three starts. The Braves started Wednesday night at 7.5 games behind Washington. Hudson gave up 5 runs in 5 innings in his last start against Philadelphia. This series is 15-7-3 Over last 25 in Atlanta. Atlanta opened as a -185 favorite with a total of 7.5.
4)U.S. Open for Thursday, Janko Tipsarevic vs. David Ferrer; Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Novak Djokovic ESPN2
The rain delayed most of the action on Tuesday so the delayed matches were played on Wednesday. That was good news for #2 Maria Sharapova, who lost her first set to Marion Bartoli (was down 4-0 before delay on Tuesday) to win the next two sets. But Andy Roddick fell in four sets to Juan Martin Del Potro to end his career. Weather permitting, on Thursday, #7 Del Potro has to get back on the court to take on #1 Novak Djokovic at 7pmET. #8 Janko Tipsarevic faces the feisty #4 David Ferrer in an afternoon match that should start around 1pmET.
5)Odds to Win 2012 World Series
Yes, it's football season but baseball odds have dramatically changed since the beginning of the season. The Texas Rangers are still the favorite and the Yankees are second, Washington and Cincinnati have pushed closer to the top. Teams that are out of it like Boston and the Chicago Cubs are not listed in the odds from Bovada.
Odds to win the 2012 World Series
Texas Rangers 5/1
New York Yankees 6/1
Cincinnati Reds 13/2
Washington Nationals 13/2
Detroit Tigers 9/1
San Francisco Giants 10/1
Los Angeles Dodgers 12/1
Atlanta Braves 14/1
Chicago White Sox 15/1
Tampa Bay Rays 15/1
Los Angeles Angels 18/1
Baltimore Orioles 20/1
Oakland Athletics 20/1
St. Louis Cardinals 20/1
Pittsburgh Pirates 50/1
Arizona Diamondbacks 100/1