Sputtering Yanks seeking turnaround against Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

08/16/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees try to get their fading playoff hopes back on track this afternoon, when they play the second of three weekend games against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium.

New York fell further behind in the playoff races on Friday, when Esteban German had two doubles and scored twice -- including the go-ahead run in the ninth inning -- to lead the Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Yankees in the opener of this three-game set.

The Royals went ahead for good in the ninth off Mariano Rivera (4-5). German doubled with one out and Mitch Maier followed with a single. Rivera then uncorked his first wild pitch of the season, allowing German to score and give Kansas City a one-run edge.

New York loaded the bases off Joakim Soria in the ninth, but the Royals closer managed to pick up his 33th save of the season after getting Jason Giambi to fly out and end the game.

The Yankees left 11 men on base and were just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Mark Teahen drove in two runs for the Royals, who have recorded wins in just two of their last nine contests. Leo Nunez (4-1) picked up the win after he tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.

Jeter, who sat out Wednesday's 4-2 loss to Minnesota with a bruised instep, went 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored for the Yankees, who have dropped six of their last seven games to fall 10 1/2 back of first-place Tampa Bay in the American League East and seven behind Boston in the wild-card standings.

Hoping to resuscitate the Yankees' fleeting hopes this afternoon will be right-hander Sidney Ponson, who is 7-3 with a 4.27 ERA. Ponson was charged with the loss on Monday in Minnesota, when he surrendered four runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Ponson defeated Kansas City earlier in the year while with Texas and is 10-7 lifetime against the Royals with a 4.38 ERA in 20 starts.

The Royals will counter with righty Zack Greinke, who has dropped four of his last six decisions. Greinke was hit hard by the Twins last Saturday, as he allowed six runs (5 earned) and nine hits in five innings to fall to 9-8 with a 4.09 ERA on the year.

Following that contest, Greinke served a five-game suspension for throwing at Chicago's Nick Swisher following a bench-clearing brawl with the White Sox on August 3.

The 24-year-old right-hander lost to Ponson, who was then pitching for the Rangers, on May 1 and fell to the Yankees the last time he faced them on June 8. He is 2-3 in his young career against the Yanks with a 6.25 ERA in nine games, six of which have been starts.

Kansas City has won five of its eight matchups with the Yankees this season.

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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA
4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com