Ness Notes for August 21
The Seahawks beat the Colts 30-17 in Indy last night and the Raiders posted three straight victories this preseason when they beat the 49ers 23-7 in Oakland. The Colts have now lost eight straight preseason games (2-6 ATS), matching the Chiefs’ eight-game skid (0-8 ATS). The 49ers had their five-game ATS winning streak snapped last night (they were just 3-2 SU), leaving the Giants with the longest active winning streak at five (both SU and ATS).
My free play for Monday is at the Oak A’s over the Tor Blue Jays at 7:05 ET. After a weekend full of sports 7-2 (Friday-Sunday), I open the new week in MLB with an exclusive Las Vegas Insider (5-1 as of August 5). In the NFLX, I continue my 5-1 run in Week 2 (5-0 on sides with a combined 132-23 winning margin!) with my 15* Monday Night Delight.
The Cowboys will visit the Saints tonight in Shreveport on MNF on ESPN (8:00 ET). Dallas will bring a four-game preseason winning streak (both SU and ATS) into the contest, after opening with a 13-3 Week 1 victory in Seattle. The Saints, just 8-12 SU and 7-12-1 ATS over the last five years in preseason, also won their Week 1 opener, beating the Titans 19-16 in Tennessee. The Cowboys are favored by three points with a total of 35.
Home teams are 8-7 SU and ATS going into Week 2 (only tonight’s game remaining), with eight of the 15 games going over the total. Things can change quickly in any sport (any time of year) and we were reminded of that this weekend. After two more unders on Thursday, under bettors were on a 15-4 run to open this year’s preseason. However, eight of the last 13 games have gone by.
Six teams have scored 30 or more points since Friday, after only the Jaguars scored that many in their 31-26 Week 1 win over the Dolphins in the first 19 games of preseason. The Bengals beat the Bills in Buffalo on Friday, 44-31. It is the highest scoring game yet (75 points) and the Bengals’ 44 points are the most for any team to date.
MLB ratings
In 1978 it was called the “Boston Massacre” and with one game remaining in the Yankees/Red Sox five-game series (1:05 ET today), it became known as the “Boston Massacre, Part 2.” In the first three games of the series, the Yankees scored a total of 39 runs, as Boston’s starters allowed 24 hits and 20 runs in just 13.2 innings. Last night, Curt Schilling went seven innings allowing just three runs and left with a 5-3 lead.
However, Boston’s bullpen allowed singles in the eighth and ninth (tying run scored with two out!) and two more in the tenth as the Yanks won again, 5-3. Boston’s bullpen, through four games, has allowed 28 hits, 16 walks and 23 ERs in 16.1 innings (12.67)! The Yankees have now extended their lead in the AL East to a season-high 5 1/2 games. Monday’s headlines are Cory Lidle and David Wells.
While the Boston coaching staff gave us plenty of pitching details over the weekend, the Angels’ Jered Weaver won his ninth game without losing on Friday night (12 ML starts) when he beat the Mariners 3-0. He is now 9-0 with a 1.95 ERA and joins Whitey Ford as the only AL rookie to open his career with a 9-0 record.
Johan Santana defeated the White Sox in Minnesota yesterday 7-3, improving his record to 13-0 in his last 20 starts at the Metrodome (since August 6, 2005). The Twins have won each of those games, becoming the first team in the modern era (since 1900) to win 20 straight home games that were started by a particular pitcher. His ERA during that 20-game stretch is 2.03.
The Mets won their fourth straight game Sunday (2-0) behind Orlando Hernandez. Interestingly, the Mets opened the week by losing on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Philadelphia, with a combined score of 27-4. The team’s four-game winning streak is the longest of any team in MLB, but more importantly, the Mets are 14 games ahead of the Phillies in the NL East, easily the largest margin. from any division leader. The Tigers and Yankees lead their divisions by 5 1/2 games.
Hernandez improved his record with the Mets to 7-5 and since El Duque’s first start for the Mets (May 28), he and Steve Trachsel have a combined record of 17-6 in 30 starts. During that span, the one-two projected by Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine is 8-8 in 25 starts. Who should start Game 1 and Game 2 for the Mets come playoff time?
The Angels are tied with the Mets for four straight wins as they completed a weekend sweep of the Mariners on Sunday, 3-2. The Mariners have the longest active losing streak in MLB at 11 in a row, but that’s not half the story. Seattle capped off its 0-11 road trip with Sunday’s loss at Anaheim. Since 1977 (the Mariners’ inaugural season), only one other major league team has gone on a winless road trip of at least 11 games. In 1989, the Tigers were swept on an 11-game tour of Toronto, Boston and Kansas City.
Sunday’s loss extended Seattle’s record losing streak against American League West rivals to 20 games (the longest by any team within its division since the start of divisional play in 1969). Seattle is 10-32 against the AL West in 2005. Neither the Angels, Mets nor Mariners play Monday. Monday’s schedule is quite light with only 10 games on the card. All games except the Yankees/Red Sox will be played under the lights.
The main matchup is, of course, the start of a four-game series between the White Sox and Tigers in Detroit (7:05 ET). Chicago swept a three-game series of Detroit from August 11-13 at US Cellular Field to move within 5 1/2 games of the division-leading Tigers, and has managed to keep the deficit to that figure despite losing four of seven since then. series.
Contreras (11-5, 3.78 ERA) threw a three-hitter against the Tigers on Aug. 2. 11 in the world and recorded his first career shutout in a 5-0 victory. He is 3-1 with a 1.45 ERA in four starts against Detroit this season, and is 8-3 with a 3.01 ERA in 15 career starts against the Tigers. However, after winning 17 straight decisions going back to last year, he is 2-5 with a 4.63 ERA in his last eight starts overall.
Detroit will send Verlander (14-6, 3.14) to the mound to open this series. He is 0-3 with a 9.88 ERA in three starts against the White Sox this season, including a loss to Contreras on Aug. 1. 11 when he allowed five runs and a career-high 13 hits in five innings.
CFB Notes
The AP preseason poll was released over the weekend, and much like the coaches’ poll, which has been out for a couple of weeks, Ohio State will open as the highest-ranked team in the nation. It’s Ohio State’s first preseason No. 1 ranking since 1998 and the seventh time that has happened in school history (Oklahoma leads with nine preseason No. 1s). Ohio State fans hope history doesn’t repeat itself, as the Buckeyes have never won a national title after opening as the highest-ranked team in the nation.
Troy Smith returns to QB and led Ohio State to a season-ending seven-game winning streak (7-0 ATS). The Buckeyes averaged 38 PPG during that run and Smith capped the season by throwing for 642 yards in wins over Michigan (25-21) and Notre Dame (34-20 in the Fiesta Bowl). Offense won’t be an issue for Ohio State, but defense must replace NINE starters, including first-round linebacker pick AJ Hawk (No. 5 for GB), safety Donte Whitner (No. 8 for Buffalo) and LB Bobby Carpenter. (No. 18 to Dallas).
Ohio State received by far the most first-place votes (35 of 65), but six teams received at least one, the most since 11 schools received first-place votes in 1984. Notre Dame (10) will open as the number one school in the country. 2, the school’s best showing since it opened No. 2 in 1994. By the way, ND fans, the Irish went 6-5-1 that year and unranked, after losing 41-24 to Colorado in the Fiesta. Bowl. That loss started an eight game losing streak for ND, one in which the Irish have been outscored 275-143!
Texas, the defending national champions, open at No. 3 (8) and will host Ohio State in the first “showdown game” of the season on September 9. Auburn (6) opens at No. 4, West Va (6) at No. 5 and USC (3) at No. 6. Rounding out the top 10 are Florida, LSU, Cal and Oklahoma.
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