Lee, Cubs down Brewers in Central showdown opener
Baseball Betting Lines
07/29/2008 -
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrek Lee went 3-for-5 and drove in three,
including the go-ahead RBI double in the ninth, and the Chicago Cubs edged the
Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4, in a see-saw opener of a crucial four-game set between
the top two teams in the NL Central.
Alfonso Soriano homered, doubled, and scored three times for the Cubs, who
have won four of six and pushed their lead over the Brewers to two games. Chad
Gaudin (7-4) got the win for a scoreless inning in relief of Ted Lilly, who
gave up seven hits and three runs in six innings.
Salomon Torres (5-3) gave up two runs on two hits and three walks in the ninth
to take the loss. J.J. Hardy, Ryan Braun, and Russell Branyan each hit solo
homers for the Brewers, who twice battled back from deficits only to lose for
the third time in four games.
CC Sabathia was not quite his dominant self on Monday, giving up nine hits and
three runs in 6 2/3 innings, with three strikeouts and two walks.
Chicago edged in front with two runs off Torres in the ninth. Torres issued
free passes to Soriano and pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot with one out, and they
came back to haunt him. Lee sent a line drive into the corner in right, and
the double plated Soriano with the go-ahead run.
Aramis Ramirez was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Geovany Soto's
infield single to deep short scored Fontenot for a two-run Cubs edge.
"Late in games, that gets you in trouble, walking guys," said Brewers manager
Ned Yost. "It got him (Torres) tonight, he's really been effective in that
role. Walks hurt."
Carlos Marmol fanned the first two batters of the ninth, then walked Jason
Kendall. Gabe Kapler fouled off a pitch that the home plate umpire Ted Barrett
initially ruled strike three, but third base umpire Doug Eddings overruled the
call, giving Kapler one more chance. He drove a ball to deep left, but Soriano
made a leaping grab at the warning track to end the game.
The save for Marmol was his fifth of the season.
Soriano led off the game with a double to center, stole third with one out,
and came home on Lee's single to right. Soriano then extended the Chicago lead
to 2-0 with a long homer to left-center to lead off the third, his 17th of the
season.
Lilly took a two-hit shutout into the sixth, but surrendered five hits and
three runs in the inning as the Brewers took the lead. Hardy started it with a
solo homer to left with one out, and Braun followed with his 29th homer of the
season, tying the game at 2-2.
Prince Fielder singled and came home on Corey Hart's double, but Hart was
thrown out trying for a triple, and the Brewers settled for a 3-2 lead.
"I just made mistakes to good hitters," said Lilly. "I'd like to have (the
sixth inning) back dearly. I felt I was in a good position to give us seven or
eight innings."
A throwing error by Rickie Weeks allowed the Cubs to take the lead back in the
seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Sabathia got Lee to ground a dead
double-play ball to Hardy, who flipped to Weeks at second. Weeks' throw to
first was wild up the line, though, and two runs scored on the play, giving
Chicago a 4-3 lead.
Branyan came on as pinch-hitter in the home half of the frame with two outs
and the bases empty. He came through with his 12th homer of the season, an
opposite-field blast out to left-center, tying the game at 4-4.
Game Notes
Lilly leads the league with 25 homers allowed, one more than Philadelphia's
Brett Myers...Branyan has two pinch-hit homers this season, four for his
career...The Cubs left 10 runners on base...Hardy extended his hitting streak
to 10 games...Braun has homered in five of six games, and the Brewers have
homered in 23 of 24 games.
<< Marlins rally in eighth to stun Mets
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla and Cody Ross drove in the game-tying
and go-ahead runs respectively, as the Marlins used a five-run eighth to
climb within one game of the NL East leading Mets with a 7-3 win, in the
opener
<< Slowey blanks ChiSox as Twins gain ground
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Slowey tossed a six-hit shutout and
Denard Span homered for the first time in his career as the Twins clobbered
the Chicago White Sox, 7-0, in the opener of a big four-game series between
the AL
<< Burnett fans 10 as Jays edge Rays
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Burnett struck out 10 over seven strong
innings, outdueling James Shields in a 3-1 win for the Toronto Blue Jays over
the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game set.
Burnett (12-9) allowed only
<< Beltre homers twice to power M's past Rangers
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Beltre hit two home runs including a
solo shot in the eighth that put the Mariners ahead for good, as Seattle
topped Texas 7-5, in the opener of a four-game series.
Beltre's home run in the fi
<< Angels solve Dice-K, down Red Sox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Torii Hunter hit a three-run home run and Casey
Kotchman added a two-run blast as part of a six-run sixth inning that
propelled the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim past the Boston Red Sox, 7-5, in
the ope
Schnyder, Bartoli reach second round in Montreal >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ninth-seeded Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder and
former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli were a pair of first-round winners
Monday at the $1.34 million Rogers Cup tennis event.
The 29-year-old Schnyder was l
Greinke golden as Royals down A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Greinke struck out a career-high 11 in 7
1/3 innings, and the Kansas City Royals downed the Oakland Athletics, 4-2, in
the opener of a three-game set.
Greinke (8-7) scattered seven hits and two runs an
Maddux ends career-long 14-start winless streak against D-Backs >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Maddux got his first win since May 10
and the San Diego Padres downed the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-5, in the opener
of a three-game set at Petco Park.
Maddux (4-8) got career win No. 350 on May 10,
Report: Lightning sign Stamkos >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning have reportedly
signed center Steven Stamkos, this year's No. 1 overall draft pick.
The St. Petersburg Times reports the 18-year-old Stamkos received the standard
rookie deal of
Marlins' Sanchez to start Thursday >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez will take
the mound for the first time in over a year as the team announced he will
start Thursday's game versus the Colorado Rockies.
Sanchez last pitched for Flo
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.
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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.
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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.
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