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07/30/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.A. Happ pitched six scoreless innings in his Houston debut, as the Astros handled the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0, in the opener of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.
Happ (2-0) and minor leaguers Jonathan Villar and Anthony Gose were acquired by Houston from the Phillies on Thursday in exchange for workhorse starter Roy Oswalt. Happ gave up just two hits, struck out six, and walked four to take the win.
Jason Michaels, Chris Johnson and Jeff Keppinger homered for the Astros, who have won three in a row.
Manny Parra (3-8) went 5 1/3 innings in the start, allowing four runs on four hits for the Brewers, who have dropped three in a row. He also fanned six batters and walked three to drop his third straight decision.
The Brewers failed to score off Happ after putting men on first and second. Rickie Weeks doubled to begin the game and Corey Hart walked. Happ, though, retired the next three batters in order to end the threat.
Michaels' solo blast in the second would prove to be all the runs Houston would need.
After Milwaukee stranded men on first and second in the top of the fourth, the Astros put a three-spot on the board in the home half. With two outs, Michaels walked and Pedro Feliz singled. Johnson then smacked a three-run homer over the wall in right for a 4-0 advantage.
Keppinger's solo homer off the left-field foul pole in the eighth made it a 5-0 game.
Wilton Lopez, Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom combined to pitch a scoreless seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively, for Houston.
Game Notes
The Astros lead the season series with the Brewers, 4-3...Following the trade on Thursday, the Astros then made a second deal, sending Gose to Toronto for minor league first baseman Brett Wallace...Johnson extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by a Houston rookie since Julio Lugo's 14-game run in 2000...Hart went 0-for-3 with a walk in his return to the lineup. He played for the first time in six games after missing time due to a sore right thumb and wrist...Milwaukee started a six-game road trip on Friday...The New York Yankees are reportedly set to acquire Lance Berkman from the Astros. Berkman was not in the starting lineup for Houston on Friday...Oswalt made his Philadelphia debut on Friday against the Nationals. The right-hander allowed five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits and walked two in six innings to absorb his third straight loss.
<< Bradford inks record deal with Rams
Earth City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams quarterback and 2010 top
overall draft choice Sam Bradford has reportedly agreed to a six-year deal
that is worth a record $50 million in guarantees.
According to the St. Louis Post-
<< Bautista continues grand season, lifts Jays over Tribe
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista's grand slam and league-leading
31st home run highlighted a six-run fourth, as the Toronto Blue Jays won their
fourth straight with an 8-1 rout of the struggling Cleveland Indians at Rogers
Centre.
<< Joyce's homer lifts Rays over Yankees; A-Rod held homerless
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer in the
sixth inning, lifting the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-2 win over the New York
Yankees in the opener of a critical three-game series.
The Rays entered the serie
<< Cavs sign G/F Graham
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed
guard/forward Joey Graham.
The 6-foot-7 Graham played in 63 games for Denver last season, starting 18,
and averaged 4.2 points and two rebounds per game.
He
Diamondbacks power past Mets to snap seven-game slide >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Johnson hit a go-ahead two-run homer in
the sixth and Miguel Montero tacked on a three-run shot later in the frame to
help the Diamondbacks snap a seven-game slide with a 9-6 win over the Mets.
Montero
Atlanta's Heyward comes through in extras in Cincy >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jayson Heyward delivered the game-winning
two-run double in the 10th inning as Atlanta upended Cincinnati, 6-4, in the
first of a three-game set.
Brian McCann homered and Chipper Jones added two hits,
Harrell wins MLB debut as White Sox extend home win streak >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gordon Beckham had two hits and drove in two
runs to support six solid innings from Lucas Harrell in his major league debut
as Chicago downed Oakland, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game set.
Harrell (1-0),
Peralta homers twice in Tigers debut; Detroit tops Boston >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jhonny Peralta hit a pair of homers and drove in
three in his Tigers debut, as Detroit held on against Boston's furious ninth-
inning rally for a 6-5 decision in the first of three between the clubs at
Fenway
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.
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