Basketball Betting
 

Basketball Betting


NFL Football
NCAA Football
NCAA Basketball
MLB Baseball
NHL Hockey
Soccer
Auto
Horse Racing
Golf
Tennis
 

NBA Basketball Betting

Huff leads O's past Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

07/04/2009 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, as the Baltimore Orioles hung on to edge the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 6-4, in the second test of a four-game series.

Luke Scott stroked a two-run double for the Orioles, who had lost four of five coming into Friday. Nick Markakis went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

David Hernandez (2-2) lasted 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits with two strikeouts and two walks to collect his second win in his fourth start in the majors. George Sherrill picked up his 18th save of the year.

"Impressive. He was throwing strikes and used all his pitches really well. He commanded his fastball and showed great poise," Orioles manager David Trembley said about Hernandez.

Kendry Morales belted a two-run homer for the Angels, who have dropped three of their last four. Maicer Izturis went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Vladimir Guerrero drove in the other run for Los Angeles, which won, 5-2, in the opener of the series on Thursday.

Ervin Santana (1-4) went five frames, allowing six runs -- four earned -- on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks to take the loss for LA. Santana was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game.

"I felt good. My location was okay, but I made a few mistakes. My arm felt good, but I just want to win," Santana said.

The Orioles drew first blood with a pair of runs in the first inning. Adam Jones was hit by a pitch, Nick Markakis reached first on Erick Aybar's fielding error, and Huff singled to load the bases with one out. Two batters later, Scott stepped to the plate and stroked a two-run double to right.

Huff blasted a three-run homer in the third to give Baltimore a 5-0 lead. Huff drove a Santana offering over the right-field wall to knock in Jones and Markakis, who had singled and doubled, respectively.

Each team scored once in the fourth, as Markakis hit an RBI single for the O's and Izturis stroked an RBI double for the Angels.

Morales blasted a two-run homer to right off Hernandez in the sixth to cut the gap to 6-3.

LA plated a run in the eighth to cut the margin to 6-4. Torii Hunter, who grounded into a fielder's choice and advanced to second and third on two wild pitches, scored on Guerrero's groundout. Jim Johnson, though, was able to get out of the inning without any further trouble.

Sherrill came on in the ninth and gave up a leadoff single to Izturis but got pinch-hitter Mike Napoli to ground into a game-ending double play.

Game Notes

The Angels lead the season series with the Orioles, 3-1. LA won the 2008 season series, 6-3...Baltimore shortstop Robert Andino had a seven-game hitting streak snapped...The Angels are 7-3 in their last 10 games.

<< Ramirez quiet in return but Dodgers still double-up Padres
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez returned from a 50-game suspension and played only 5 1/2 innings, going 0-for-3 with a walk, two groundouts and a pop out, but the rest of his Dodger teammates picked up the slack

<< Leaving a trail: Turkoglu snubs Portland, to sign with Raptors
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharp-shooting forward Hedo Turkoglu appeared headed to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday afternoon, but by nightfall those talks apparently broke off. In the latest turn of events, TNT basketball an

<< Roughriders hang on to top Lions in season opener
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darian Durant threw for 313 yards and had a rushing touchdown to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 28-24 win over the British Columbia Lions in the season opener for both clubs. Durant went 18-for-32

<< Sadowski, Giants' offense destroy Astros
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Sadowski got plenty of run support while throwing seven scoreless innings, as the Giants erupted offensively in a 13-0 whipping of the Astros. Sadowski (2-0), who made his major league debut Sunda

<< Kings acquire F Smyth in multi-player deal
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings boosted their offense on Friday, acquiring All-Star forward Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche in a three-player deal. Smyth, 33, tied for the Avalanche lead in points last seas

Raburn, Tigers use three-run 16th to edge Twins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Raburn's RBI single in the 16th proved to be the game-winner as the Detroit Tigers took an 11-9 win over the Minnesota Twins in a 16-inning contest to open a three-get set at the Metrodo

Twins place Slowey on DL; recall Swarzak >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following the Twins' 16-inning 11-9 loss to the Tigers, Minnesota placed pitcher Kevin Slowey on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right wrist. Slowey started on the mound for the Twins Friday bu

Giants option INF Downs; activate INF Aurilia >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following the Giants' 13-0 win over the Astros, the team optioned infielder Matt Downs to Triple-A Fresno to make room for infielder Rich Aurilia, who was activated from the bereavement list. The 25-ye

Report: Clemens' lawyer claims he passed steroid test in '03 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens was reportedly not among the 100-plus players who tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003, when the league conducted an anonymo

Lincecum goes after third straight complete game against Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum hopes for the same type of run support San Francisco provided Ryan Sadowski in the opener of this set when the Giants play the middle test of their three-game series with the Houston Astros at AT&T Park.

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

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.

How to Read Point Spreads

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:

  • Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
    OR
  • Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

  • 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 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.

    For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

    Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

  • Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
    OR
  • Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

    Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

    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.