Pettitte helps red-hot Yankees rout Diamondbacks

Baseball Betting Lines

06/14/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Pettitte hurled eight brilliant innings as New York dumped Arizona, 7-1, to complete a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte (4-4), who turns 35 on Friday, dazzled Arizona with his vaunted cutter, a cut-fastball that dives in on the hands of a right-handed batter. The veteran lefty allowed just one run on four hits, while walking one and striking out four in the game.

"He always seems like he keeps us in a game," said Yankees captain Derek Jeter. "And this year he seems to be even better. It's really fun to play behind him when he has it going like he did."

Alex Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and two runs scored for the streaking Yankees, who have won nine straight games and 10 of 11. Rodriguez now has 68 RBI on the year which leads the major leagues.

Hideki Matsui finished 3-for-4 with three RBI for New York, while Bobby Abreu was 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Scott Hairston drove in the only run for the Diamondbacks, who have lost six of seven contests.

Doug Davis (4-8) surrendered four runs on six hits in five innings of work en route to the loss. The veteran walked five and fanned five in the game.

The Yankees played some station-to-station baseball to take an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Melky Cabrera, Jeter and Abreu led off the frame with consecutive singles to load the bases. Rodriguez followed by walking to force in a run and, after Jorge Posada fanned, Matsui hit a slow grounder to second to drive in another.

The D'Backs quickly got one back in the second. Mark Reynolds laced a double to center that grazed off the glove of Cabrera, moved to third on Chad Tracy's ground ball to first and scored on Hairston's ground ball to short.

New York added a pair of runs in the third. Abreu drew a walk to lead off and quickly crossed the plate after Rodriguez laced a double to left. Rodriguez was also able to advance to third on the play when Hairston misplayed the carom off the wall. A batter later, Matsui plated Rodriguez by ripping a double to right to make it a 4-1 game.

The Yankees then put things away with three more runs in the seventh. Rodriguez and Posada set the table with a pair of singles to start the inning. The D'Backs then went to Doug Slaten but Matsui greeted the reliever by looping a single in front of Young in center. Rodriguez scored on the play and Young air-mailed his throw over the head of Reynolds at third, enabling Posada to cross the plate and Matsui to advance into scoring position. Josh Phelps then came through with a one-out RBI single off Tony Pena to give New York a 7-1 advantage.

Game Notes

Jeter was 2-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to nine games...Pettitte has faced the Diamondbacks seven times and is just 2-5 against them...The Yankees are now 110-73 in interleague play, the best in all of baseball...Attendance was 53,712.

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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.