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09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- This afternoon's showdown between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Oakland Athletics may have little effect on the American League playoff race, but fans attending the Coliseum today should be treated to a top-notch pitching matchup between a pair of All-Stars.
The Angels' sputtering offense will have to go up against A's standout Trevor Cahill in the second test of this three-game series, while the three-time defending AL West champions counter with ace Jered Weaver in hopes of evening this set and avenging last night's 8-0 loss to their division rival.
Cahill has been marvelous in his second major league season, with the talented youngster having compiled a 14-6 record along with a 2.82 earned run average over 24 starts. He's been especially tough on the Coliseum mound, having gone 8-2 with a sensational 1.84 ERA in 11 outings and limiting the opposition to a meager .194 batting average.
The right-hander will have to bounce back from a subpar showing in his most recent appearance, however, a four-inning stint on the road against the New York Yankees on Monday in which Cahill was rocked for eight runs and nine hits and served up a pair of homers. Prior to that defeat, he had posted a 5-1 record and an 0.77 ERA over a six-start stretch from July 28-August 25 and worked at least seven innings in each of those games.
Cahill will be seeking a third straight winning start against the Angels at the Coliseum. The 22-year-old yielded just one run in eight innings in a home victory over Anaheim on June 10, then held the Halos to an unearned run and five hits through seven strong frames a month later.
In six career starts versus the Angels, Cahill is 3-1 with an excellent 2.09 ERA.
Oakland's emerging ace will get to face an Anaheim team that's mustered only 11 runs while losing five of its last seven games and was shut out for the third time in a week with Friday's verdict. The Angels could manage a mere five hits against Gio Gonzalez and three A's relievers in last night's setback.
Gonzalez (13-8) worked the first six innings and allowed just four hits and three walks while fanning six batters, with Michael Wuertz, Henry Rodriguez and Brad Ziegler combining to let up only one hit the rest of the way.
The victory halted a string of four straight losses for the Athletics and enabled them to gain some ground on first-place Texas in the AL West, although the Rangers still own a comfortable nine-game lead in the standings.
"We wanted a win tonight," said Gonzalez afterward. "We wanted to stop the bleeding. Our bats were swinging today, we were hot. We felt good and it was good to be back home."
Oakland had a 2-0 lead after the first six innings, then scored six times in the seventh to break open the contest. Kevin Kouzmanoff and Cliff Pennington each belted two-run homers during the outburst, with Rajai Davis and Gabe Gross contributing RBI singles.
Angels starter Scott Kazmir (8-13) was able to hold the Athletics to two runs despite walking a season-high six batters in his 5 2/3-inning stint, with Oakland registering only two hits off the left-hander.
"Once I was able to keep the direction toward home plate, it felt a little easier to throw the ball where I wanted," said Kazmir of his performance.
Weaver will take the ball today seeking to end a personal three-start losing streak. Although the competitive right-hander didn't pitch well in two of those defeats, he's received no help from his club's punchless offense as well, as the Angels were shut out in each of those three games.
The 27-year-old was outstanding in Sunday's tough-luck 1-0 loss to Baltimore, permitting just the one run and five hits in eight innings. Weaver also struck out 11 Orioles on the day to run his season total to 200, tied with Seattle's Felix Hernandez for the most in the majors this year.
Weaver hasn't been as sharp when he's pitched at the Coliseum this year, however. The former first-round draft choice was tagged for six runs and 12 hits over six innings in a lopsided road loss to the A's on June 8, and surrendered five runs in six frames while being outdueled by Cahill in a June 11 clash held in Oakland.
In 14 career starts against the Athletics, Weaver is 3-5 with a 3.42 ERA.
These two AL West foes have split 14 meetings thus far in 2010, with Oakland having prevailed in five of eight bouts held at the Coliseum.
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 4th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Serbia vs. Croatia, 11 a.m. (et)
Spain vs. Greece, 2 p.m. (et)
<< Mets turn to rookie in hopes of besting Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jenrry Mejia makes his first major league start this
afternoon, when the New York Mets continue their three-game series with the
Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The 20-year-old right-hander made the Mets with a terrific spr
<< Red Sox, White Sox to begin set with double dip
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- After mother nature delayed the opening of this important
weekend set, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox will renew acquaintances
with a day-night doubleheader that begins this afternoon from Fenway Park.
The arriv
<< Scorching Yanks seek eight straight win in test with Jays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The New York Yankees have solved just about all their
problems during a seven-game winning streak that matches the team's longest of
the season. The defending world champions will now turn their attention
towards getting Jav
Rockies try to pin ninth straight loss on reeling Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres try to avoid a ninth straight loss
this afternoon, when they play the middle test of their three-game series with
the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park.
San Diego's slide continued in the opener of this s
Braves try to bounce back in key series with Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson hopes for a better result than the last time
he faced Atlanta when he and the Florida Marlins continue their three-game
set with the Braves tonight at Sun Life Stadium.
Johnson surrendered just three hits and
Rays resume playoff push in second test with Orioles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays own the best road record of any team in
the majors this season, in part due to their success at Baltimore's Camden
Yards. The postseason contenders will have their sights set on another victory
over the hom
Halladay aims to pitch surging Phils past Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Halladay goes after win No. 17 this evening, when the
playoff-hopeful Philadelphia Phillies continue their three-game series against
the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park.
Halladay has lost his last two starts, t
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.
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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