Astros send Albers against Olsen, Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

08/05/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Matt Albers gets his ninth start of the season today when the Houston Astros complete a three-game weekend series with the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium.

A 24-year-old Houston native, Albers has made 11 trips from the bullpen and eight starts over 19 appearances in 2007.

He pitched in relief on July 31 and August 1, allowing five hits and seven runs in 2 1/3 innings in a pair of Astros losses to Atlanta. His last start came July 25 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He posted a no-decision after allowing just three hits over five scoreless innings in a 2-1 Houston victory.

Albers, who is 1-4 with a 5.54 earned run average in his eight starts, has never faced the Marlins.

He reached the major leagues last season with the Astros, going 0-2 in four appearances -- two starts -- while posting a 6.00 ERA in 15 innings.

Lefty Scott Olsen tries to snap a two-start losing streak for the Marlins.

The 23-year-old has been touched for 18 hits and 13 runs in just 10 innings over those two outings, dropping decisions to Arizona and Colorado in July 25 and 31, respectively.

He was mired in off-the-field trouble late in the month as well, including a team suspension handed down by manager Fredi Gonzalez and an arrest in connection with a traffic incident.

Olsen has made one career start against the Astros, winning it after allowing six hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. He is 6-3 in 12 home starts in 2007, with a 4.65 ERA.

On Saturday, Miguel Cabrera belted the tying homer in the seventh inning and scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the 12th, as Florida edged Houston, 6-5.

Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla also homered for the Marlins, who snapped a two- game skid. Ramirez had three RBI, as Florida beat Houston for just the fourth time in the last 13 meetings.

Jason Lane hit a three-run homer for the Astros, losers in four of their last six contests.

Cabrera was intentionally walked by Stephen Randolph (0-1) with two outs in the 12th, and went to second on a wild pitch that hit catcher Eric Munson in the throat. Cabrera scored all the way from second on another wild pitch on a ball that bounced into the Florida dugout.

Lee Gardner (3-2) threw the top of the 12th to get the victory.

Houston swept a two-game set from Florida at Minute Maid Park back in April and has taken nine of the last 13 matchups between the clubs.

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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.

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