 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||
|
||||
D-Backs edge Mets in 14 to complete rare sweepBaseball Betting Lines07/22/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Snyder's hit to the gap in left-center field scored Justin Upton with the winning run in the 14th inning, boosting Arizona to a 4-3 win over the New York Mets, as the Diamondbacks completed their first three-game sweep since last August. Upton doubled to left field leading off the inning against Fernando Nieve (2-4). Miguel Montero was intentionally walked before Mark Reynolds struck out. Snyder, the last position player on the bench, pinch-hit for Blaine Boyer (2-2) and sent the second offering barely foul, albeit home run distance to left field. Later in the count, he drilled a ball off the wall in left for the game-winner. Chris Young, Rusty Ryal and Reynolds homered for Arizona, which hadn't swept a series of at least three games since August 28-30 against Houston. Ryal had a career-high four hits and Upton added three hits. Angel Pagan and Rod Barajas homered for the Mets, who fell to 1-6 on their 11-game road trip. The swing ends in Los Angeles this weekend. The Mets have been held to four or fewer runs in 12 straight games (going 3-9 during that span), the longest such stretch since they were held to four or less runs in 13 consecutive games from September 19 - October 2, 2004. Mets starter Jonathon Niese gave up six hits and three runs while fanning six over five innings. Dan Haren started for Arizona and had eight strikeouts over six frames. "He threw well, but unfortunately we got into a deadlock there. He went as far as I would let him go," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said of Haren. It was another tough game for Mets left fielder Jason Bay as he was 0-for-6. Bay is 4-for-36 over his last 10 games and has no RBI in that span. "I am somewhat surprised," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "I thought getting here on the west coast he would exhale and take off. I'm somewhat baffled at the struggles he's having right now." Pagan homered to right field with one out in the opening inning, but Young went deep on a 3-2 offering leading off the bottom of the first. Ryal sent a 1-0 Niese pitch over the wall in left-center to start the bottom of the second, but the Mets evened the game again in the third. Pagan doubled, and with one out Carlos Beltran hit an RBI single to right. Reynolds homered to left-center with one out in the fourth, but Arizona wasted a chance with runners at second and third in the fifth when Montero fanned to end the inning. Barajas went deep with two outs in the sixth. Left fielder Cole Gillespie nearly made a leaping catch at the wall, but ran out of real estate. The Diamondbacks had a pair of really good opportunities in the eighth. Bobby Parnell walked Upton and Montero singled, but Reynolds lined into a double play. Ryal singled to place runners at the corners, but Tony Abreu struck out swinging. Young reached first on David Wright's throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Young stole second, but Augie Ojeda popped out to second. Arizona wasted a chance with two men on in the 10th and they couldn't score despite loading the bases in the 12th. Pinch-hitter Stephen Drew popped out and Adam LaRoche flied out. Game Notes The game lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes...Arizona pitchers fanned a season-high 16 batters...Before Wednesday, Arizona hadn't swept a set against the Mets since taking a four-game set, August 3-5, 2002 at Shea Stadium...This was the second time the Mets were swept this year, joining a four-game series May 13-16 at Florida...New York batters drew five walks. Before Wednesday, the Mets hadn't drawn more than three walks in any of their last 12 games. It was the team's longest streak of games with no more than three walks since a 13-game stretch from July 1-16, 2005...The Mets went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and are 5-for-33 in those situations since the All-Star Game...Arizona left 16 men on base and went 1-for-10 with RISP.
<< Billingsley tosses shutout as Dodgers avoid sweep
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey Blake hit a solo homer and drove in another run with a single to back Chad Billingsley's second career shutout, as the Los Angeles Dodgers snuck past the San Francisco Giants, 2-0, in a pitcher
<< Gutierrez gets clutch hit in 11th as M's top ChiSox
<< Isner wins another long match
<< Padres rally past Braves in extras
<< Holliday, Cardinals top Phillies for eighth straight win
Rockets feel ready to contend in West >>
HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Rockets think they are ready to contend in the Western Conference, even after striking out on the big names in this summer's free-agent bonanza.When their main target, Chris Bosh, opted to join LeBron James and Dwyane Wade
Struggling Tigers in need of deadline help >>
Henry not the solution as MLS seeks legitimacy >>
Tigers hope to build a win streak versus Blue Jays >>
Reds' Volquez takes mound in finale with Nationals >>
How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later. While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better. For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory. 1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season. 2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped. How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number. Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules. Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically. How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games). Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition. Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
|
