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07/31/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez went 4-for-6 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI, as Colorado scored 12 times with two outs in a franchise record-breaking eighth inning to pull away from Chicago, 17-2, in the opener of a three-game series.
The Rockies batted around twice in an unfathomable eighth frame that saw them set club marks for runs (12), hits (13) and consecutive hits (11), all while stranding the bases loaded.
Dexter Fowler had three hits, a home run and two RBI, while Ian Stewart homered and drove in three for the Rockies, winners of two straight on the heels of a miserable eight-game skid.
Jeff Francis (4-3) was efficient in a six-inning start, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five to pick up the win.
Ryan Dempster (8-8) lasted only four-plus frames for the Cubs, surrendering five runs on seven hits and five walks in the club's third straight loss.
Sean Marshall entered from the bullpen and failed in trying to keep the Cubs within 5-2 in the eighth. The reliever had runners on the corners with two outs before the flood gates opened.
Gonzalez started the string of 11 consecutive hits with a RBI single to right. Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe followed with run-scoring doubles to chase Marshall, and Andrew Cashner proved even less effective in allowing six straight hits.
Chris Iannetta tripled to left-center to score Hawpe, then Stewart slugged one over the wall in right-center. Melvin Mora added a pinch-hit, run-scoring double following Clint Barmes' single, and Fowler got in on the act with his third homer of the season, a no-doubter to right.
Brian Schlitter mercifully relieved Cashner after Ryan Spilborghs' pinch-hit single and gave up a base hit to Gonzalez and two-run double to the left-field gap to Tulowitzki.
Hawpe and Iannetta walked to load the bases to keep the inning going, but Stewart flied out to center to end the marathon inning.
Colorado got the scoring started with a three-spot in the third. Seth Smith doubled in a pair, and Dempster walked three straight with two outs in the frame, the last a payoff pitch just off the plate to Iannetta to force in a run.
Gonzalez's 20th home run of the season leading off the fifth made it 4-0, and Dempster was pulled shortly thereafter following a single and two walks. James Russell came in and limited the damage to Stewart's RBI base hit to right.
The Cubs got to Francis in the sixth, as Jeff Baker singled and raced around on a triple to right from Tyler Colvin, who scored two batters later on a Derrek Lee groundout.
Game Notes
The 17 runs were the most the Rockies have scored since beating Florida, 18-17, on July 4, 2008...Of Colorado's 21 hits, 12 went for extra bases, also a club record. Every starting position player had an extra-base hit..Francis went unbeaten in five July starts...Matt Belisle, Rafael Betancourt, and Taylor Buchholz each threw a scoreless inning of relief for the Rockies.
<< Prado leaves Friday's game
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves second baseman Martin Prado
left Friday's game against Cincinnati with an undisclosed injury.
Prado slid somewhat awkwardly headfirst into home plate on Jayson Heyward's
game-winning two-
<< Twins remain hot, sink Mariners
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Thome and Alexi Casilla both clubbed a
two-run homer, as the streaking Minnesota Twins beat Seattle, 5-3, in the
opener of a three-game series at Target Field.
J.J. Hardy had two hits and score
<< Peralta homers twice in Tigers debut; Detroit tops Boston
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jhonny Peralta hit a pair of homers and drove in
three in his Tigers debut, as Detroit held on against Boston's furious ninth-
inning rally for a 6-5 decision in the first of three between the clubs at
Fenway
<< Harrell wins MLB debut as White Sox extend home win streak
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gordon Beckham had two hits and drove in two
runs to support six solid innings from Lucas Harrell in his major league debut
as Chicago downed Oakland, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game set.
Harrell (1-0),
Langer up two at Senior Open >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bernhard Langer continued his hot play Friday
as he carded a two-under 68 to grab a two-stroke lead after the second round
of the U.S. Senior Open.
Langer, who is coming off a win last week at the S
Murray into semis in LA >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray took a first-set tiebreaker
against Alejandro Falla of Colombia and took control from there for a straight
victory in the quarterfinals at the $700,000 Farmers Classic tennis event.
The top
Marlins beat Padres to begin weekend series >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gaby Sanchez and Cody Ross homered to lead
the Florida Marlins past the San Diego Padres, 4-2, in the opener of a three-
game series.
Hanley Ramirez and Logan Morrison each drove in a run for the Marl
Angels erase early five-run deficit, top Rangers >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Rivera had two hits, including a three-run
homer, and the Los Angeles Angels overcame an early five-run deficit to beat
the rival Texas Rangers, 9-7, in the start of a crucial intradivisional
weekend
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.
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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