Holliday, Wainwright help Cards edge A's

Baseball Betting Lines

06/19/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday hit a two-run home run and drove in three, while Adam Wainwright tossed eight strong innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals take a 4-3 win over the Oakland Athletics in the second of a three-game interleague set.

Wainwright (10-4) gave up just one unearned run on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts for the Cardinals, who have won four of their last five. Skip Schumaker went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the win.

Ryan Sweeney and Gabe Gross each drove in a run, while Ben Sheets (2-7) was tagged with the loss as he gave up four runs on six hits with four walks and two strikeouts over seven innings for the Athletics, who have dropped seven of their last eight.

With the Cardinals holding a three-run lead, Ryan Franklin took the mound for the ninth, but quickly got into trouble. Conor Jackson led off with a walk and Kurt Suzuki followed with a single. Sweeney's RBI single then made it a two- run game.

Jason Motte was called out of the bullpen and struck out Kevin Kouzmanoff for the first out. Mark Ellis flied out to center, but Gross made it a one-run game with a pinch-hit single to left. Adam Rosales, though, struck out to end the game and give Motte his second save of the season.

Oakland jumped on top in the first. Rajai Davis doubled, Jackson was hit by a pitch and Davis came home on a double steal after Yadier Molina's throwing error.

St. Louis finally got on the board in the fifth. Molina led off with a walk and moved to second on Wainwright's sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Schumaker singled to score Molina, and Holliday followed with an RBI double for a 2-1 lead.

Wainwright worked around a two-out single in the sixth and set the A's down in order in the seventh.

St. Louis padded its lead in the seventh, as Brendan Ryan led off with a double and Holliday blasted a pitch over the fence in left for a 4-1 advantage.

In the eighth, Jack Cust led off the frame with a pinch-hit double, but Davis flied out and Daric Barton lined into an inning-ending double play.

Game Notes

The A's are 132-109 in interleague play, but just 4-7 this season...St. Louis improved to 106-92 in interleague play and 6-2 on the campaign...St. Louis has taken seven of the eight meetings with Oakland...Sheets has dropped his last four starts and hasn't won since May 8, a span of eight starts. He is 6-15 over 27 starts against St. Louis...Wainwirght is a perfect 7-0 over seven starts at home this season...The start of the game was delayed by 15 minutes due to rain.

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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.