White Sox return home to open set with Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

09/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a great start to their most recent road trip, the White Sox return home licking their wounds a little bit.

After falling further behind the top spot in the American League Central, Chicago hopes to get its upcoming nine-game homestand off to a winning start this evening in the opener of a three-game set with the Kansas City Royals at U.S. Cellular Field.

The White Sox began their swing with three-game sweeps in Cleveland and Boston before taking the opener of a four-game set in Detroit on Monday. However, they were then outscored 20-5 in losing the series' final three games, including a 6-3 setback in Thursday's finale that dropped Chicago six games behind idle Minnesota for first place in the division.

After plating just a run in each of their first two losses, Alex Rios matched that total on his own with a two-run homer, but Detroit's Rick Porcello threw eight strong frames to defeat Chicago.

"He was hitting his spots," Rios said of Porcello. "He was using his slider a lot and we didn't do what we had to do."

Gavin Floyd was knocked around for 13 hits -- all singles -- in six-plus innings, while all but one of the six runs he allowed were earned.

Mark Buehrle will try to do better on the hill tonight and duplicating his last start against the Royals would accomplish that. The 31-year-old lost his first two starts this year to Kansas City before hurling seven scoreless innings of six-hit ball at home on July 9 in a victory, the 21st of his career versus the Royals.

Buehrle hasn't factored into the decision of his last two starts and his last outing came on Sunday versus Boston. The lefty was tagged for four runs on 10 hits over seven innings and is 12-10 with a 3.99 earned run average this year.

Kansas City's Bruce Chen took the loss opposite Buehrle back in July and seeks redemption tonight. The fellow southpaw lasted just 3 1/3 innings on that day, yielding three runs and six hits to remain winless in his career (0-3) against the White Sox with a 5.28 ERA against them.

Chen had alternated wins and losses over his previous five starts before not factoring into the decision of his club's 6-4 setback to the Tigers on Saturday. The 33-year-old gave up four runs over just 4 2/3 innings, marking the second time in his last three starts that he failed to get out of the fifth inning.

In 28 games (18 starts) this year Chen is 9-7 with a save and 4.89 ERA.

The Royals aided to the White Sox current division deficit as they were swept in three games by the Twins, culminating with Wednesday's 4-3 loss.

Zack Greinke threw no-hit ball over the first 4 2/3 innings, but ended up allowing four runs and five hits over an eight-inning complete-game effort.

"Overall, I pitched all right," Greinke told the Royals' website. "I definitely wasn't pitching good enough to do a no-hitter. That'd had to been pretty much all them messing up, not really me doing it."

Brayan Pena drove in two runs, including one in the ninth, while Alex Gordon also had an RBI in that final frame to account for the one-run loss, Kansas City's sixth setback in its last seven games.

The White Sox have taken five of six at home this year over the Royals, giving them a slight 8-7 edge in the overall season series.

Wwweircom Baseball Betting News

<< Weaver aims for a win over Mariners at the Big A
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been over a month since Angels starter Jered Weaver recorded a victory, but a meeting with the Mariners could change that in a hurry. Weaver guns for his fifth straight winning decision over Seattle, which begi

<< Astros southpaw Happ takes hill vs. LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.A. Happ can add to Los Angeles' misery this evening when the Astros continue their four-game set against the free-falling Dodgers at Minute Maid Park. Happ, who was 12-4 as a rookie for Philadelphia last season,

<< Rays continue road trip in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Although the Tampa Bay Rays still stand a good chance of reaching the postseason, they haven't played like a playoff participant over most of the team's current road trip. The American League Wild Card leaders will attempt to

<< AL Central-leading Twins visit Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins take a growing lead atop the American League Central's Division into a six-game road trip that begins with tonight's matchup with the Cleveland Indians from Progressive Field. The red-hot Twins just con

<< Reds hope to get on track at home versus Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If a return home isn't enough to fix the Cincinnati Reds, then perhaps a visit from the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates will do the trick. Tonight, the Reds will try to stop a five-game losing streak when they begin a three-game se

Boston's Buchholz squares off with Oakland's Cahill >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though a sweep would have been better, a series victory in Boston's most recent set has kept its slim playoff hopes alive. Hoping to make up more ground in the American League Wild Card race, the Red Sox will send the

Phils seek offensive breakout in latest visit to Mets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back on top in the NL East for the first time in more than three months, the Philadelphia Phillies return to the venue where runs have been scarce this evening in the opener of a three-game set against the rival New York Mets

Carpenter aims to pitch Cards past slumping Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals co-ace Chris Carpenter has recorded 16 wins in a season only twice in his career, He'll be looking to reach that mark again tonight in the second installment of a four-game series against the Atlanta Brave

Rockies aiming to remain red-hot in opener with D-Backs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have once again caught fire in September to get themselves back into the postseason races. Tonight they'll go for an eighth straight win when they open a three-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Co

Giants try to further close gap on West-leading Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The battle for National League West supremacy between the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres resumes this evening with the second installment of a four-game series from Petco Park. The Giants drew first blood with T

It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.