Greinke goes for Royals in opener with Tigers

Baseball Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke can continue a recent hot streak tonight when the Kansas City Royals host the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game weekend series at Kauffman Stadium.

A 16-game winner with a 2.16 earned run average last season, Greinke was 7-11 this year after allowing six runs on 10 hits in a 7-1 loss at Seattle on Aug. 6. However, he's turned it around statistically in four starts since, allowing just seven runs on 28 hits in 30 innings while going 1-0 with three no- decisions.

He last faced the Tigers back on Opening Day in Kansas City and got a no- decision after allowing an earned run on six hits in six innings of Detroit's 8-4 win.

Lifetime against them, he is 11-5 with two complete games and a 2.45 ERA in 121 innings.

The Tigers counter with hard-throwing righty Jeremy Bonderman, who picked up his 10th career win against the Royals in his most recent start on Aug. 23. The 27-year-old scattered eight hits and allowed two runs while striking out three in the win, which was his first since Aug. 3 and stopped a three-start losing skid.

He was held out of his normal rotation slot five days later after feeling tightness in his rib cage and was replaced by rookie Alfredo Figaro, but a bullpen session this week went well enough for him to take the turn against the Royals.

Bonderman, who's won just 10 times in 44 games since the close of 2007 after notching double-digit wins for four straight seasons, is 2-5 on the road this year with a 6.83 ERA in 56 2/3 innings.

On Thursday in Minnesota, Gerald Laird's 13th-inning home run was the difference, as the Tigers pulled out a 10-9 victory over the Twins in the finale of a three-game series.

Laird's blast was one of five Tigers home runs, as Don Kelly, Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Raburn also went deep. Casper Wells hit his first career homer to tie the contest in the ninth inning for Detroit, which had dropped the first two games of this set.

The Tigers, though, lost first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who had to leave the games with left biceps tendinitis. He is questionable for tonight's affair.

On Wednesday in Kansas City, Mitch Moreland's solo home run leading off the sixth inning proved to be the difference, as the Texas Rangers clipped the Royals, 4-3, in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Yuniesky Betancourt hit a solo home run and an RBI double for the Royals, while Bryan Bullington (1-4) yielded four runs and eight hits over 5 1/3 innings to absorb the loss.

The Royals have split their 12 meetings with the Tigers this season.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.