05/10/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman belted a two-run homer and Carlos Lee also drove in two runs in Houston's 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a three-game series.
Berkman, who had three hits, has 16 in his last 20 at-bats.
Brian Moehler (1-0), making his first start since September of 2006 when he was with Florida. threw five innings to get the win. Moehler, who came into the game with a 7.04 ERA out of the bullpen, started in place of the injured Wandy Rodriguez. Moehler allowed five hits, walked one and fanned five in his scoreless appearance.
Kaz Matsui had a pair of hits with an RBI and scored twice for the Astros, who have won six of their last seven games.
Derek Lowe (2-3) surrendered eight hits and six runs over 5 1/3 innings in losing his second consecutive start.
James Loney and Blake DeWitt each had two hits for the Dodgers, losers of two straight after winning 10 of 11. The Dodgers went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Houston scored twice in both the second and third innings. Berkman and Lee started the inning with consecutive doubles, and after Geoff Blum singled Hunter Pence reached first on an error by second baseman Jeff Kent. That allowed Lee to come home.
Michael Bourn singled, stole second and scored on a Matsui double in the third. Lee lofted a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
Miguel Tejada singled with two down in the fifth, and Berkman followed with his 12th homer of the year, a blast to right field for a 6-0 cushion.
Tejada doubled in Matsui in the ninth, before LA scored its lone run in the bottom half when Andruw Jones doubled and later scored on Chin-Lung Hu's groundout.
Game Notes
Of the 21 batters Moehler faced, he had 15 first-pitch strikes. Of those 15, 13 were outs...Kent is hitless in his last four starts, a span of 13 at- bats...Houston has won five of the last seven meetings.
<< Atkins, Rockies down Padres
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins went 3-for-4 with a run
batted in, as Colorado took the opener of a three-game set, 4-2, from the San
Diego Padres.
Brad Hawpe ended 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI for the Rockies, who
<< Thome homers as White Sox down Mariners
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Contreras hurled seven innings of one-
run ball and Jim Thome slugged a home run, leading the Chicago White Sox to
a 4-2 victory over the struggling Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.
Contreras (3-3
<< Weeks wins game in ninth for Brewers
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks hit a two-run single in the
bottom of the ninth inning, as the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a season-high
six-game losing streak with a 4-3 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ryan Braun
<< Papelbon lets another slip away as Twins rally to win
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Lamb singled home the winning run in
the ninth, as the Minnesota Twins rallied to down the Boston Red Sox, 7-6, in
the opener of a four-game set from the Metrodome.
Jonathan Papelbon entered the g
Friday's NHL Playoff Summary >>
Philadelphia 2 0 0-2Pittsburgh 3 1 0-4First Period-1, Pittsburgh, Sykora 5 (Malone, Malkin), 6:19. 2, Philadelphia, Richards 5 (Umberger, Coburn), 8:30. 3, Philadelphia, Richards 6 (Lupul, Umberger), 12:50. 4, Pittsburgh, Crosby 3 (Hossa), 14:11
Friday's NHL Playoff Sum >>
Philadelphia 2 0 0-2Pittsburgh 3 1 0-4First Period-1, Pittsburgh, Sykora 5 (Malone, Malkin), 6:19. 2, Philadelphia, Richards 5 (Umberger, Coburn), 8:30. 3, Philadelphia, Richards 6 (Lupul, Umberger), 12:50. 4, Pittsburgh, Crosby 3 (Hossa), 14:11
Cavs, Celtics resume best-of-seven series in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics attempt to take a commanding 3-0 lead
over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, as
the teams meet tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.
On Thursday, Paul Pierce paced a balanc
Red Wings aim for 2-0 lead against visiting Stars >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Detroit Red Wings will try to take a two
games to none lead in the Western Conference finals tonight, when they welcome
the Dallas Stars for Game 2 at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings came out with a strong pe
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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