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07/25/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wandy Rodriguez spun seven innings of one-hit ball and received home run support from Hunter Pence and Chris Johnson, as the Astros shut down Cincinnati, 4-0, to salvage the last of a three-game set.
Rodriguez (8-11) walked two, struck out seven and did not allow a runner past first base in leading Houston to its' first win in six tries against the Reds at Minute Maid Park this season.
Mike Leake (7-2) suffered the loss after yielding all four runs on seven hits while walking three and fanning three over 6 1/3 innings for the Reds, who lead the season series, 7-2.
Pence led off the home second with a home run to left field to get the scoring started.
The Astros put runners at first and second with nobody out in the fourth but could not score after Johnson bounced into a 5-3 double play and Jonny Gomes made a diving catch on a Jason Castro fly ball to shallow left.
Johnson hit his longball with one out in the seventh to make it a 2-0 game. Castro then singled and moved to third base on a pinch-hit double by Jason Michaels before Michael Bourn doubled to left to plate both runners and chase Leake from the game.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez allowed only a walk to the high-powered Reds offense during the second through fourth innings and retired the last nine batters he faced after a leadoff walk to Miguel Cairo in the fifth.
Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom each allowed one hit in a scoreless frame each to finish off the blanking.
Game Notes
Cincinnati third baseman Scott Rolen, who missed his ninth straight game on Sunday, is expected to return during the team's next series in Milwaukee that begins on Monday...The Reds were shutout for a 12th time this season...Joey Votto had two of the Reds hits and Ryan Hanigan had the other...Rodriguez evened his career record against the Reds at 7-7 in 18 starts...Johnson extended his hitting streak to a career-high nine games...Bourn finished with three of Houston's nine hits...Patrick Patterson, taken by the Houston Rockets with the 14th pick in the NBA Draft last month, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game.
<< Kubel's slam powers Twins past O's
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kubel belted his seventh career grand
slam and Nick Punto had three hits with an RBI as Minnesota blasted Baltimore,
10-4, to conclude a four-game series.
Delmon Young and Jim Thome hit back-to-back
<< Brigman wins in Columbus
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.J. Brigman fired a seven-under 64 on Sunday
to come from behind and win the Children's Hospital Invitational at The Ohio
State University Scarlet Course.
Brigman finished at 10-under 274 and won by a str
<< Mets' Dickey departs start against Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey left
Sunday's start against Los Angeles in the sixth inning.
Dickey landed awkwardly while delivering a pitch to Russell Martin but the
veteran right-hander recovered t
<< Pettersson comes from behind for Canadian Open win
Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sweden's Carl Pettersson posted a three-under
67 on Sunday to come from behind and win the Canadian Open at St. George's
Golf & Country Club.
Pettersson finished at 14-under 266 and won by a singl
Dawson, Herzog take their spots in Hall of Fame >>
Cooperstown, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Dawson became the second member of
the Baseball Hall of Fame with a Montreal Expos cap on his plaque when he was
inducted Sunday afternoon.
Others joining the induction party were former manager White
Rodriguez leaves Sunday's game >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez left Sunday's game in the eighth
inning after being hit in the top of the left hand by a pitch.
Rodriguez, still seeking his 600th career home run, came to the plate with the
bases loaded and one o
Twins put Hudson on DL >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have placed second
baseman Orlando Hudson on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique
strain.
The move is retroactive to July 24. The Twins will recall catcher Jose Mora
Brewers sweep Nats >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey McGehee hit a three-run homer and
Rickie Weeks clubbed a two-run shot, as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a
three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with an 8-3 victory at Miller
Park.
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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