Hawpe, Rox edge D'Backs
Baseball Betting Lines
08/14/2008 -
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Hawpe clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom
of the eighth inning and the Colorado Rockies withstood a ninth-inning charge
from the Arizona Diamondbacks to hang on for a 6-5 win in the middle
installment of a three-game set from Coors Field.
Hawpe finished 3-for-3 with two doubles and a walk for Colorado, which won for
just the second time in its last seven contests. Ian Stewart and Clint Barmes
each added a solo homer.
Colorado starter Jeff Francis allowed three runs on six hits in six-plus
innings of work, but did not receive a decision. Taylor Buchholz (5-3) tossed
a scoreless eighth to get the win. Brian Fuentes overcame a rocky ninth to
nail down his 22nd save. The lefty gave up a run on two hits and walked two.
Chad Tracy belted a solo homer for the Diamondbacks, who have dropped five of
their last seven games. Stephen Drew went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a
run scored. Drew has now hit safely in a career-high 15 straight games.
Arizona starter Doug Davis surrendered four runs -- three earned -- on six
hits in five innings, but did not factor into the decision. Jon Rauch (4-3)
was saddled with the loss after he gave up the home run to Hawpe.
With the score locked at four, Rauch came on for Arizona in the eighth and
Chris Iannetta greeted him with a double to left-center. After Jeff Baker
sacrificed the runner to third, Hawpe hammered a 1-0 pitch over the center-
field wall for his 19th home run of the season and a 6-4 Rockies lead.
Fuentes was in charge of protecting the lead in the ninth and issued a one-out
walk to Augie Ojeda. Consecutive singles by pinch-hitter Chris Burke and Drew
plated a run. After Chris Young went down swinging, Fuentes intentionally
walked Conor Jackson to load the bases for Adam Dunn, who grounded out to end
the game.
The Rockies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. Barmes began the
inning with a walk and Willy Taveras followed with a bunt single before Matt
Holliday slapped an RBI single to left. Iannetta then hit a grounder to Tracy
at first. He tossed a throw to Drew, who misfired on the throw back to first,
allowing Taveras to cross the plate.
Stewart's lead-off home run in the second gave the Rockies a 3-0 lead.
Arizona got on the board in the top of the fifth as Tracy led off the frame
with a blast to right. Colorado, though, countered in the bottom half when
Barmes opened the frame with a shot to left.
After Mark Reynolds trimmed the deficit to 4-2 with a run-scoring single in
the sixth, the Diamondbacks evened the score with a two-out rally in the
seventh.
Chris Snyder led off with a double and later scored on a groundout by pinch-
hitter Tony Clark. Drew ripped a two-out double and came around to score the
tying run on a single by Young.
Game Notes
The Diamondbacks left eight men on base, while Colorado stranded
five...Arizona has won nine of the 11 encounters between the clubs this
season...Before the game, Arizona reinstated pitcher Doug Slaten from the 15-
day disabled list and optioned pitcher Billy Buckner to Triple-A
Tucson...Arizona's Dan Haren (12-6) and Colorado's Glendon Rusch (5-3) are
scheduled to start the rubber match on Thursday.
<< Cardinals hang on to edge Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Glaus collected a game-high four hits and
finished with an RBI and a run scored to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the
Florida Marlins, 6-4, in the third game of a four-game set at Dolphin Stadium.
Jaso
<< D-Backs reinstate Slaten from DL, option Buckner
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated left-handed
pitcher Doug Slaten from the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday.
Slaten, who was placed on the DL on July 19 with a right knee strain, is 0-3
with a 4.40 earned
<< Wells' slam helps Blue Jays hold off Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells clubbed his fifth career grand
slam and David Purcey was stellar on the hill, as the Toronto Blue Jays
staved off a late rally to edge the Detroit Tigers, 4-3, in the third
install
<< A's lose Chavez for rest of season
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez
will miss the rest of the season after having successful surgery to repair
his right shoulder.
The six-time Gold Glove winner underwent a two-hour-plus proce
<< Rangers' Hamilton leaves game to be with pregnant wife
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton
left Wednesday's 8-4 loss to Boston to fly back to Texas to be with his wife,
who is close to giving birth to the couple's third child.
Hamilton was 0-for-3 in
Mets clobber Nationals behind huge third inning >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Murphy clubbed a two-run homer and
added an RBI single, as the New York Mets -- aided by an eight-run third
inning -- cruised to a 12-0 win in the second test of a three-game series
against
Buehrle helps White Sox complete second straight shutout of Royals >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle threw seven shutout innings, and
Jermaine Dye finished with a double and run batted in for Chicago, which shut
out Kansas City for the second game in a row, 4-0.
On Tuesday, in the opener of t
Blazers' G Roy to undergo surgery >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will
have arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday to repair a tear in the meniscus of
his left knee, the club announced Wednesday.
An MRI taken Tuesday revealed the tear
The San Jose Earthquakes >>
Waived defender/midfielder Amir Lowery.
Oklahoma City >>
Acquired forward Joe Smith from Cleveland and forward Desmond Mason from Milwaukee in exchange for forward Adrian Griffin and guard Luke Ridnour.
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Sportsbooks to bet on football
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
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MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
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