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Smith's homer caps incredible 9th inning comeback as Rockies top CardsBaseball Betting Lines07/07/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seth Smith capped an improbable nine-run rally in the ninth inning with a game-ending three-run homer, and the Colorado Rockies recorded their largest ninth-inning comeback in franchise history with a 12-9 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Trailing by six to begin the ninth, Colorado rallied to somehow win the game. Denys Reyes began his second inning of work for St. Louis, but Miguel Olivo singled and moved to third on Melvin Mora's one-out single. Clint Barmes worked a walk, and Reyes uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Olivo to score. Ryan Franklin (3-1) came in from the bullpen, and Chris Iannetta greeted him with a three-run blast to pull the Rockies to within 9-7. Dexter Fowler kept the rally going with a double, then went to third when pinch-hitter Brad Hawpe was narrowly thrown out at first on a slow roller to shortstop. It became a one-run game when Carlos Gonzalez followed with an RBI single to right. Jason Giambi, representing the winning run, laced a single into the gap in right-center. Gonzalez, on the move with two outs, was able to race all the way home after Randy Winn couldn't handle the ball cleanly, tying the score. Olivo, batting for the second time in the frame, sent a ground ball single to right to put runners on the corners, setting up Smith's three-run, game- winning shot that barely cleared the right field fence. Gonzalez finished with four hits -- including a two-run homer -- and three RBI for the Rockies, who have won four of five. Giambi, Olivo and Smith each finished with three hits in the victory. Manuel Corpas (3-5) earned the win for pitching two scoreless innings. Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer against his former team for St. Louis, which has lost four of six. Felipe Lopez added a two-run shot and three RBI in defeat. The Cardinals jumped on the scoreboard with three runs in the third. Aaron Miles singled with two away and nobody on, and Lopez followed with his fifth home run of the year. Colby Rasmus kept the inning going with a base hit and scored on Albert Pujols' double to left. Gonzalez belted a two-run homer for Colorado in the home half, but the Cardinals' offense scored in each of the next three innings. Yadier Molina led off the fourth with a walk, and Tyler Greene followed with a single. Starting pitcher Blake Hawksworth advanced both runners, and Miles' sacrifice fly and Lopez's RBI single provided a 5-2 cushion. Molina singled with Pujols on third in the fifth for another run, and Holliday's three-run homer in the sixth made it a seven-run contest. Iannetta's RBI fielder's choice groundout for Colorado in the seventh made it a six-run game. Game Notes Jeff Francis started for Colorado and gave up five runs, six hits and two walks in four innings...Hawksworth lasted five innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and four walks while fanning five...The Cardinals fell to 32-8 when scoring first...Holliday was announced as a participant in this year's Home Run Derby. He clubbed his first career home run against his former team, for whom he played from 2004-08...The Rockies have recorded five straight 10-plus hit games, a season-high.
<< Detroit options Galarraga to Toledo
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers optioned pitcher Armando Galarraga to Triple-A Toledo following Wednesday's game against Baltimore. Galarraga went 6 2/3 innings and was charged with three runs on 10 hits with three wa
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Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Greinke pitched seven dominant innings and Wilson Betemit drove in all of Kansas City's runs, as the Royals held on to edge the Seattle Mariners, 3-2, in the middle contest of a three-game series. Grein
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently 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. World Series odds are now up as well. 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 football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence Work left to do: Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8. Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday. DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ... West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule. Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games. For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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