Dodgers hope to push win streak to nine in Houston

Baseball Betting Lines

04/21/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Young right-hander Clayton Kershaw can make it nine straight wins for the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight when they head to Minute Maid Park to begin a three-game series with the Houston Astros.

The Dodgers haven't won nine straight since an 11-game tear from July 28- August 8, 2006.

A 21-year-old native of Dallas, Texas, Kershaw is without a decision in two sterling 105-pitch efforts thus far in 2009, tossing five innings of two-hit ball against San Diego and seven innings of one-hit ball against San Francisco.

In 12 innings overall, he's allowed two earned runs, walked five and has struck out 19.

Against the Astros in 2008, Kershaw failed to get a decision in his only start against them while allowing eight hits and a single earned run in six innings.

Overall in 2008, he was 5-5 in 22 appearances - 21 starts - with a 4.26 earned run average in 107 2/3 innings.

For Houston, veteran Russ Ortiz makes his second start of the season.

A 110-game winner in the major leagues, Ortiz joined the Astros in April after signing a minor-league deal during the offseason.

Ortiz began 2009 with a pair of relief appearances, tossing a combined five hits and three runs in four innings in Houston's losses to the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

He returned against the Pirates three days later, getting a no-decision after a 4 2/3-inning outing in which he surrendered five hits and three runs, walking two and striking out two.

Ortiz last faced the Dodgers in 2008, going 0-1 in two starts while giving up 15 hits and six runs in 10 1/3 innings.

On Monday in Houston, Joey Votto hit a two-run double in the seventh inning and the Cincinnati Reds held on to edge the Astros, 4-3. Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning for the Astros, who have split their last six contests.

Mike Hampton got the starting nod for Houston and gave up three runs on eight hits, while striking out five and walking one over 6 1/3 innings. Geoff Geary (0-2) suffered the loss after surrendering the eventual game-winning run in the seventh.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the Dodgers continued to roll, as Matt Kemp belted a grand slam and hit a solo home run, as Joe Torre's crew routed the Colorado Rockies, 14-2, to sweep a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.

Kemp has now hit safely in all 13 games this season.

Orlando Hudson and Andre Ethier each had three RBI for the Dodgers, who have won 10 of their first 13 games.

Right-hander James McDonald allowed just four hits while fanning two and walking three in the second start of his career for the Dodgers. Scott Elbert (1-0) pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief, giving up two runs on three hits to collect the win.

Houston took four of seven from the Dodgers last season, but LA won the final three meetings.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

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