Greinke hopes to slow down White Sox
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There haven't been many pitchers who have slowed down the Chicago White Sox as of late, but Zack Greinke has shown in the past to be quite capable of such a task.
The Kansas City Royals ace will take the mound in tonight's second test of a four-game series with the visiting White Sox, who will be out to extend their season-best winning streak to seven games.
Chicago maintained its recent high level of play by besting the Royals by a 4-1 count in Thursday's opener of this set. The win was the 13th in the last 17 contests for the White Sox, who have closed within 2 1/2 games of Detroit for first place in the American League Central.
Mark Buehrle (8-2) was the difference for Chicago in last night's triumph, as the steady southpaw took a shutout into the ninth inning and yielded just one run on six hits before exiting after 8 1/3 frames.
"I had everything working," Buehrle said. "I changed my sinker grip in the bullpen. The last two or three games [catcher A.J. Pierzynski] says it's been cutting, but not sinking. So I put my fingers closer together and it was one of the best sinkers I've had in a while."
Jayson Nix went 2-for-4 with a solo home run for the White Sox, while Jim Thome also collected a pair of hits and scored once in the victory.
David DeJesus spoiled Buehrle's shutout bid with a one-out double in the bottom of the ninth. Royals starter Bruce Chen (0-2) worked six solid innings in a losing cause, with the journeyman allowing just two runs on five hits and striking out five.
Kansas City, losers of three in a row and 11 of its last 15 games, will turn to Greinke to lift the team out of its rut. The standout right-hander has usually come through when called upon, as his 10-3 record and major league- best 1.95 earned run average will attest. He's been especially dominant at home, having amassed a 6-1 record with an outstanding 1.78 ERA in nine trips to the Kauffman Stadium mound.
The White Sox are well aware of Greinke's talents. The 25-year-old has faced Chicago three times already this season and has surrendered a mere four runs -- three earned -- and 17 hits in 22 innings over those outings, winning twice and receiving a no-decision in the other. In a May 4 matchup with the Sox at Kauffman Stadium, he racked up 10 strikeouts while firing a six-hit shutout.
Greinke comes in having won his last two starts as well. After tossing eight innings of one-run ball to down Houston on June 23, he limited Pittsburgh to two runs over 6 2/3 frames in a 3-2 decision at PNC Park this past Sunday.
The former first-round pick is 5-8 with a 4.20 ERA in 20 lifetime appearances (17 starts) against Chicago.
Greinke's counterpart this evening, John Danks, is on a nice roll of his own. The White Sox lefty has pitched at least seven innings and given up three runs or fewer in each of last four starts, although he's just 2-2 over that span due to a lack of run support.
Danks didn't need much help from his offense in Sunday's clash with the rival Cubs, as he allowed only four hits over seven shutout innings to lead the White Sox to a 6-0 victory over the Northsiders. The win evened his season record to 6-6 and lowered his ERA to a respectable 4.08.
The 24-year-old is 1-0 with a 3.25 ERA over six career starts against the Royals, but struggled in a visit to Kauffman Stadium back on May 31. Danks was reached for four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings that day and came away with a no-decision.
Chicago has won four of six matchups with the Royals held in Kansas City so far this season and swept a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium from May 29-31. Additionally, the White Sox enter this evening's tilt having won 12 of their last 15 overall road games.
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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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