Brignac homers as Rays beat Tribe

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reid Brignac hit a three-run homer, as the Tampa Bay Rays earned a 4-2 decision over the Cleveland Indians in the rubber match of a three-game series at Progressive Field.

Carl Crawford also knocked in a run, while Willy Aybar and John Jaso each chipped in with a pair of hits and a run scored for Tampa Bay, which snapped its 18-game slide at Progressive Field on Saturday and has won four of six overall.

Wade Davis (8-9) picked up the win after tossing 6 1/3 effective innings. The right-hander, who allowed seven hits and two runs with one walk and four strikeouts, has won three straight decisions. Rafael Soriano locked the game down with a scoreless ninth to register his 26th save of the season.

"The first two innings was an uphill battle," Davis said. "Couldn't really find anything to go to throughout the whole game, but we played some great defense today and won the game."

Carlos Santana and Andy Marte each knocked in a run apiece for the Indians, who have dropped three of their last four after a six-game winning streak.

Justin Masterson (3-9) was tagged with the loss for yielding four runs -- three earned -- on five hits with a pair of walks and struck out five over 6 2/3 innings.

Santana's sacrifice fly in the first gave the Indians the early lead, but Tampa Bay answered with three in the second. Aybar worked a two-out walk and went to third on Jaso's single. Brignac then hit a three-run homer that just cleared the wall in right to put the Rays up 3-1.

"I look at it as a slider that forgot to slide," Masterson said about the pitch to Brignac. "It turned out to be a terrible cutter like 85 m.p.h."

Cleveland got a run back in the home half on Marte's fielder's choice RBI groundout. The Rays then restored their two-run lead in the fifth. Jason Bartlett started things by reaching on an error, stole second, advanced to third on a ground ball and crossed the plate on Crawford's sac fly.

Marte led off the seventh with a base hit, and after Michael Brantley bounced into a force out, Davis was replaced by Joaquin Benoit, who surrendered a base hit to Asdrubal Cabrera before retiring the next two hitters and keep the score 4-2.

Grant Balfour worked out of trouble in the eighth, getting pinch-hitter Shelley Duncan to fly out to leave runners at second and third. Soriano issued a two-out double to Shin-Soo Choo in the bottom of the ninth before getting Santana to fly out to center that ended the game.

Game Notes

Despite the loss, the Indians are still 7-3 since the All-Star break...Masterson is now winless in his last four starts...Cleveland went 1- for-10 with runners in scoring position ands stranded 11, while Tampa Bay finished 1-for-6 with RISP and left three.

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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.