Kendrick dazzles A's; Phils snap six-game losing streak
Baseball Betting Lines
06/26/2008 -
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Kendrick tossed eight shutout innings,
as Philadelphia snapped its longest losing streak of the season with a 4-0 win
over Oakland, in the middle installment of a three-game interleague series.
Kendrick (7-3) allowed just four hits and a walk, while striking out four, in
his longest career outing.
Chase Utley snapped out of his recent 1-for-29 funk by going 4-for-5 with a
double and triple, and with it, the Phillies snapped their six-game slide.
Pedro Feliz went 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI, while Chris Coste had two
hits and two RBI in the win.
Oakland starter Greg Smith (4-6) took the loss after allowing all four runs on
seven hits in 5 2/3 frames, as the Athletics had a two-game win streak
stopped. It was the eighth time in 15 starts this season Smith had received
one or fewer runs in support. Jack Hannahan had Oakland's only extra-base hit,
a double.
In the top of the first, Jayson Werth walked in the leadoff spot and Utley
followed with a single. After a Jimmy Rollins pop out, the tandem on base
pulled off a double steal, and Pat Burrell drove in Werth with a sacrifice fly
to center.
The score remained 1-0 until the fourth, which Burrell opened with a single.
Feliz then pulled a ball deep to left field, off the wall, for a triple, and
Burrell raced home. Later in the same inning, Coste lofted a sacrifice fly to
right to bring in Feliz for a 3-0 Phillies edge.
In the sixth, Shane Victorino bunted his way on base with two outs, and raced
all the way home from first on a Coste single to center.
Kendrick, meanwhile, was stellar in holding up the 4-0 lead. He gave up only
three baserunners through seven innings - a walk to Jack Cust in the first, a
Hannahan double in the fifth, and a Bobby Crosby single in the seventh.
In the eighth, however, he ran into more trouble, as singles from Kurt Suzuki
and Daric Barton put runners on with one out. But Kendrick fanned Mark Ellis
and got Ryan Sweeney to ground out to end the threat.
J.C. Romero came on for the ninth and worked around a walk to Crosby to close
out the game.
Game Notes
Philadelphia's Eric Bruntlett got his first career start at first
base...Phillies manager Charlie Manuel revamped his lineup on Wednesday. Utley
(batting second), Rollins (third), Ryan Howard (fifth) and Victorino (seventh)
all batted in spots they had not batted in this season...The Phillies left 11
runners on base, while the Athletics stranded six...Oakland's Rich Harden and
Philadelphia's Adam Eaton are scheduled to start Thursday's series finale.
<< Twins keep on rolling with drubbing of Pads
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Harris and Craig Monroe clubbed two-
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straight victory, 9-3, over the San Diego Padres.
Carlos Gomez had three hits, incl
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Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Stults tossed his first career
shutout, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox, 5-0, in
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Stults (2
<< Confrontation with GM leads to suspension for Astros' Chacon
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have suspended pitcher
Shawn Chacon indefinitely for insubordination to the team, general manager Ed
Wade announced on Wednesday.
"We have suspended Shawn Chacon, pending final resol
<< Ramirez homer lifts Rangers over Astros; Chacon attacks GM
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Ramirez collected the first two hits of
his major league career -- including a go-ahead two-run home run -- as the
Texas Rangers edged the Houston Astros, 3-2, in the second of a three-game
series
<< Zito finally posts interleague win as Giants top Tribe
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito put together his best and
longest outing of the season, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4-1
victory over the Cleveland Indians in the middle contest of a three-game
interle
Sheff cooks up a Detroit victory over St. Louis >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gary Sheffield had four hits, including the
winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning, boosting the Detroit Tigers
to an 8-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in a game delayed nearly 2 1/2
hours b
Rodriguez, Astros down Rangers >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wandy Rodriguez pitched eight strong innings
and Hunter Pence drove in three runs, as the Houston Astros downed the Texas
Rangers, 7-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.
Rodri
Rangers' Hamilton again leaves game early >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only two days after he left a game early due
to knee inflammation, Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton also exited
Thursday's contest against Houston, this time with a left wrist injury.
Hamilton
Texas rivals Houston, Dallas battle to 3rd draw of season >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the third time this season Texas rivals FC
Dallas and the Houston Dynamo squared off for a Major League Soccer fixture,
and for the third time this season the match ended in draw.
The latest deadlock h
Calvillo moves up in record books as Montreal mashes Hamilton >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Calvillo completed 25-of-37 passes for
293 yards and two scores, vaulting into second overall on the CFL's all-time
passing list in Montreal's 33-10 pasting of Hamilton in the season-opener for
both cl
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
New York Giants betting lines
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Dallas Cowboys betting lines
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
Oakland Raiders betting lines
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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