Rookies to go head-to-head in Mets-Nationals clash
Baseball Betting Lines
09/07/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the Washington Nationals already looking ahead to next
year -- and maybe even 2012 given Stephen Strasburg's need for Tommy John
surgery -- a couple of young players are looking to show the team they can
contribute.
No one has been better at that than Danny Espinosa.
The former 2008 third-round pick will aim to show his stuff again tonight,
when the Nationals shoot for a season-high fourth straight win in the middle
contest of a three-game set with the New York Mets at Nationals Park.
Expected to be Washington's everyday second baseman as early as next season,
the 23-year-old made the start at shortstop in Monday's opener and went 4-
for-5 with a pair of homers, including a sixth-inning grand slam, and six RBI
in a 13-3 rout of New York.
Through five games since his September call-up, Espinosa is 9-for-16 with
three homers and 10 RBI.
"These are big weeks for me," Espinosa said. "I just want to play well, play
hard and I feel if I stay within myself and play my game, things will go my
way."
Ivan Rodriguez added three RBI and Roger Bernadina scored three times for the
Nationals, who have won a season high-tying three straight for the second time
in less than two weeks.
The Nationals, though, did lose outfielder Willie Harris in the third inning
after he crashed hard into the wall trying to make a catch. He came out of the
game due to dizziness and is day-to-day.
Josh Thole drove in two runs for the Mets, who have lost six of eight on a 10-
game road trip. Mike Pelfrey was tagged for six runs on five hits with three
walks over 3 2/3 innings to take the loss.
"We had a 3-0 lead and he was kind of cruising and then kind of lost it," Mets
manager Jerry Manuel said of his starter. "Mike Pelfrey is still a young
pitcher. He's going to be a tremendous pitcher at some point in his career. I
think he'll soon be a guy that will be counted on as someone that you know
what you're going to get from him every time out."
Given that both teams are out of the playoff race, it isn't surprising that a
pair of starters will be making their major league debuts in this game.
For the Mets, Dillon Gee steps in for an injured Johan Santana, who left his
last start on Thursday after five innings due to a pectoral muscle strain.
"It's recommended that he skip this start," Manuel said of Santana on New
York's website. "He wants to pitch, he feels like he can pitch through it, but
I don't feel it's worth it to push him at this particular time. It's not in
the best interest of the organization to push him at this particular point."
Gee, a 24-year-old righty, was 13-8 with a 4.96 earned run average with
Triple-A Buffalo and led the International League with 165 strikeouts.
His counterpart tonight is 29-year-old Cuban Yuneski Maya, who signed a four-
year deal with the Nationals on July 31 and gave up two runs -- one earned --
over 10 1/3 innings and two starts with Triple-A Syracuse.
The right-hander pitched in the World Baseball Classic in both 2006 and '09
and won Cuba's version of the Cy Young Award during his final season with
Pinar Del Rio Vegueros after going 13-4 with a 2.22 ERA and seven complete
games.
"I felt good in the minors," Maya told Washington's website. "My arm is at 100
percent, and I feel really good. It's a hard league in Triple-A, with a lot of
veteran hitters that are pretty selective. I faced pretty tough hitters, but I
felt pretty good."
The Nationals have won eight of 13 versus the Mets this year, including four
of seven in Washington.
<< Lohse hoping to pitch Cardinals past Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though the St. Louis Cardinals appear to be loaded at the
top of their pitching rotation, the back end could use some work.
Kyle Lohse gets a chance to claim his rotation spot this evening, when St.
Louis tries to gain mor
<< Week One Highlights
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Could the 2010 college football season
gotten off to a better start? It began with some of the nation's top teams
flexing their muscles. There were shootouts, defensive struggles and thrilling
overtime affair
<< Rockies hope to stay hot versus Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have put together a couple of strong
Septembers over the past few years. They've been even more successful in
recent meetings with the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.
Colorado shoots for an eighth cons
<< Padres try to string back-to-back wins together against LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After finally being able to end a potentially-costly 10-
game skid on Monday, the San Diego Padres will try to start up a winning
streak behind their best pitcher when the National League West leaders resume
a three-game seri
<< Braves seek to bounce back in second test with Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta's offense has been mostly shut down during its
current stretch of four losses in five games. That is exactly what starter Tim
Hudson has done to Pittsburgh over the last few years, though.
Hudson looks to extend a
Twins continue set with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Capturing a second straight American League Central title
may be the Minnesota Twins' main objective, but judging by the team's
performance at Target Field this season, having home-field advantage for the
opening round of the
2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 7th >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Halftime - Lithuania 43, China 40
Argentina vs. Brazil, 2 p.m.
The Real Deal on the AL Cy Young Race >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With 28 days left in the regular season, the
American League Cy Young award is still up for grabs. It seems the New York
Yankees' CC Sabathia is considered the leading candidate, although I think
there's another
Illini lineman suspended after DUI arrest >>
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -Illinois has indefinitely suspended defensive lineman Michael Buchanan after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving over the weekend.Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz said Tuesday that Illinois State Police
Report: Patriots, Brady close to contract extension >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots and quarterback Tom
Brady are reportedly on the verge of a three-year contract extension worth
close to $58 million.
The Boston Herald reports the deal is on the table for Brady,
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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