Up to MLB Betting Trends

posted July 18, 2008 at 14:50 in MLB Betting Trends

BetUS MLB Betting Odds: N.Y. Yankees -170, Oakland A's +150; Total 9

Two teams who are battling to stay in their respective divisions races will hook up on Friday night when the New York Yankees (50-45) play host to the Oakland Athletics (51-44) in an American League contest that is set to begin at 7:05 PM ET at Yankee Stadium (natural turf) in the Bronx.

Southpaw Greg Smith (5-7, 3.43 ERA) gets the call for Oakland, while the Yankees will go with right-handed veteran Mike Mussina (11-6, 3.61 ERA).

At BetUS online sportsbook, New York is listed as a -170 favorite (Oakland is +150), with a total of nine runs (the Under is -120, while the Over is even money).

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this online wagering matchup:

* OAK has played eight of its last 11 games UNDER the total

* OAK has played three of its last four road games UNDER the total

* NY has won five of its last eight games

* NY has lost three of its last four games

* NY has played five of its last six games UNDER the total

* NY has played six of its last nine home games UNDER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

* The teams have split the last eight meetings

* Six of the last nine meetings have been played UNDER the total

* OAK has won three of the last four meetings as the road team

The Yankees are hoping for a very strong close to the season, with players like Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui coming back to the lineup and Chien-Ming Wang hopefully back in the starting rotation by September. They lost two of three to Toronto coming into the All-Star break and sit six games in back of the AL East division-leading Boston Red Sox.

Oakland has hung tough with the Los Angeles Angels. The A's are six games behind that division leader as well. The Athletics are 20-20 on the road, and only the Angels have a road record above .500 among American League teams. The A's are the toughest team in the league to score on, allowing just 3.6 runs per game, while the Yankees are scoring 4.8 runs per game at home, which is seventh best in the AL.

Greg Smith is one of those young pitchers who has stepped in and done the job for the A's. And at least he's one of the pitchers they haven't traded (as they have with Joe Blanton and Rich Harden). Last time out he allowed just four runs without a run over six innings as he beat Seattle 3-2. It was the seventh time he has allowed one earned run or less in a start. Totals bettors have come to count on him, as 12 of his last 14 starts have gone under the total.

Thirty-nine year-old Mike Mussina, who has 260 career wins and is 109 games over .500 for his career, has been giving up about a run and a half less per game this year than last year, and has a 1.23 WHIP ratio, which is more than solid. He is nailing 67% strikes, which is one of his highest totals ever. And his contribution was needed, since Wang got injured and Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes did not deliver as expected. In his last three starts, spanning 18 innings, Mussina has surrendered only four runs. Six of his last seven starts have gone under the total.

We like the totals trends both of these pitchers are showing, and we're going to continue to go in that direction. Let's move UNDER the 9 runs as it is posted in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds. And let's also take Oakland as a dog over the overpriced Yankees.

JAY'S PLAYS: UNDER 9 (-120) and OAKLAND (+150)

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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)