Sports Betting – Preview Of Thursday’s Wagering Options

[Freddy Wills]

If you baseball odds, you will have a solid group of matchups to choose from as teams prepare for the final weekend of the first half. Soccer betting players have the Copa America in Argentina to wager on, while the first round of the John Deere Classic tees off in Illinois.

MLB Betting

Rays Yankees Odds (7:05 PM ET): New York’s Bartolo Colon hasn’t allowed a run in his last two starts, although Saturday’s win over the Mets was his first outing in three weeks because of a hamstring injury. The 38-year-old will go up against Tampa Bay’s Jeff Niemann in this American League East clash.

Athletics Rangers Odds (8:05 PM ET): Oakland’s Rich Harden returns to Texas to take on his former team after making his first start of 2011 in a win over Arizona. The Rangers will counter with Derek Holland in a meeting of West rivals.

Twins White Sox Odds (8:10 PM ET): In the third of four division games today, Minnesota’s Carl Pavano has performed very well against Chicago, who will send out rookie Philip Humber, one of the best surprises of the season in the American League.

Mariners Angels Odds (10:05 PM ET): Los Angeles’ Jered Weaver will look to bolster his chances to start in the All-Star game with a big effort at home against Seattle, who will give the ball to Doug Fister.

Mets Dodgers Odds (10:10 PM ET): A pair of young thoroughbreds are in the spotlight on Thursday in Los Angeles as Dodgers’ All-Star Clayton Kershaw takes on the Mets’ Dillon Gee, who could have made a strong case in his rookie season. This should be the one of the lowest of the day.

Padres Giants Odds (10:15 PM ET): This National League West clash will likely go under the posted total as well as San Diego’s Cory Luebke goes up against San Francisco’s Barry Zito, who has been consistent since returning from the disabled list.

Soccer Betting

Bolivia Costa Rica Odds (6:15 PM ET): Bolivia is a -105 favorite in this Copa America contest in Argentina, while Costa Rica is rated at +270, and a draw comes in at +220. Neither of these teams should have aspirations of winning South America’s biggest tournament, but it should be an entertaining match nonetheless.

Golf Betting

Finally, sports betting players can check out the John Deere Classic, the final PGA Tour event before the British Open next weekend, and while the action gets underway at 7:00 AM ET, all eyes will be on Steve Stricker, who tees off with 1997 winner David Toms and Mark Wilson at 7:30 AM ET. Stricker set the record last year with a -26 score and he has won this event two years running, so it’s no surprise that he is the favorite if you’re going to .