Angels score early and often to topple O's
Baseball Betting Lines
08/06/2008 -
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ervin Santana was solid on the hill to record
his 13th win on the season and Vladimir Guerrero hit a home run and finished
with four runs driven in, as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim crushed the
Baltimore Orioles, 9-4.
Santana (13-5) threw seven frames and gave up four runs on eight hits while
fanning seven batters.
"I felt very good," Santana said. "It really helps when you get a five or six
run lead. I was able to throw pitches with more confidence."
Jeff Mathis added a solo home run for the Angels, who have won seven of their
last 10 and 16 of their last 21. Garret Anderson went 3-for-4 with two RBI and
extended his hitting streak to 13 games in the process.
Nick Markakis had a three-run homer for the Orioles, who have dropped three of
four. Aubrey Huff had a single, extending his hitting streak to 15 games.
Garrett Olson (8-6) took the loss as he gave up six runs on seven hits in just
2 2/3 innings of work.
"Garrett didn't locate, he pitched up and he pitched behind too much," said
Baltimore manager Dave Trembley. "We had momentum from last night, but now we
have to regroup."
Mark Teixeira clubbed a two-out single in the first and Guerrero followed by
golfing a two-run homer over the fence in left field. Torii Hunter kept it
going with a walk and then Anderson smacked the first pitch he saw off the
wall in center for a double, allowing Hunter to score for a 3-0 edge.
Mathis launched his ninth homer of the year, just out of the reach of a
leaping Jay Payton in center field, in the second inning to make it 4-0.
Luis Montanez, in his first big league at-bat, cracked a Santana fastball over
the wall in left-center field for the first Baltimore run in the third.
Teixeira led off the bottom of the inning with a double down the line and, as
the ball caromed off the wall away from Montanez, advanced to third base.
Guerrero followed with a walk before Hunter went down swinging. Olson then
uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Teixeira and moving Guerrero to second.
Anderson kept it going with an RBI single and it was 6-1 Angels.
The bases were loaded for Guerrero in the fourth as Chone Figgins walked,
Erick Aybar singled and Teixeira drew a free pass. Guerrero launched a two-run
single off the wall in right, but was thrown out trying to turn it into a
double. Hunter then offered a sac fly to center to score Teixeira from third
for a 9-1 cushion.
Markakis' three-run homer in the fifth, his 16th of the year, scored Montanez
and Alex Cintron and pulled the O's within 9-4.
Game Notes
Baltimore finished its nine-game road trip with a 5-4 mark...The Angels own
the best record in the majors at 71-43 and won six of their nine encounters
with the Orioles this season. Since the start of the 2006 campaign, Baltimore
has lost 12 of its 16 games at Angel Stadium.
<< Coleman replaces Yeley at Hall of Fame Racing
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame Racing announced Wednesday J.J.
Yeley has been released from his driving duties of the No.96 Toyota in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Nationwide Series driver Brad Coleman will drive the
<< Cardinals pick up INF Lopez
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals signed free-agent
infielder Felipe Lopez to a major-league contract Tuesday.
Lopez was released by the Washington Nationals last week in a roster upheaval.
The 28-year-old was hit
<< Rays recall SS Zobrist, option OF Gomes
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays recalled shortstop
Ben Zobrist from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday and optioned outfielder Jonny
Gomes to Durham.
Zobrist started at shortstop in Tuesday's 8-4 win over the Cleve
<< Ludwick's blast lifts Cards over Dodgers
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Ludwick smacked a one-out, two-run
homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals a much-
needed 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a rain-soaked opener of a
three-g
<< Waters' excellent debut sends O's past Halos
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Waters made his major-league debut a
memorable one, as the 27-year-old threw eight innings of one-hit scoreless
ball in Baltimore's 3-0 win over the LA Angels of Anaheim in the second
meeting
Clips acquire F Novak from Rockets >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers acquired
forward Steve Novak from the Houston Rockets Wednesday.
In return, Houston will have the option to exchange second round picks with
the Clippers in 2011.
No
Nearly perfect: Karstens outduels Big Unit >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Karstens took a perfect game into the
eighth inning before surrendering a double to Chris Young with two outs, but
recovered to throw a two-hit shutout in Pittsburgh's 2-0 win over the Arizona
Diamond
Span, Twins pull away from Mariners to avoid sweep >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denard Span drove in four runs and had three
hits, and the Minnesota Twins salvaged the finale of a three-game set with a
7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Minnesota entered this series having won sev
Athletics select contract of Gonzalez, option Petit >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics purchased the contract
of pitcher Gio Gonzalez from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday.
The lefty made hit his major league-debut in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the
Toronto Blue Jay
Cardinals continue roster shakeup >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals recalled reliever
Chris Perez from Triple-A Memphis Wednesday, one of a series of moves for the
contending club.
The club also optioned outfielder Nick Stavinoha and infielder Bre
Sportsbooks to bet on football
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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