Red Sox, Rays ready for rubber match at Fenway
Baseball Betting Lines
09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Wakefield gets the call on short notice this evening when the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays play the rubber match of their three-game series at Fenway Park.
After getting blown out in the opener of this set on Monday, the Rays returned the favor on Tuesday, as Ben Zobrist, Jason Bartlett and Evan Longoria each homered and finished with three RBI, helping Tampa Bay to a 14-5 rout.
The Red Sox scored twice in the first inning only to see the Rays counter with 14 unanswered runs.
"The way it started out it didn't look really wonderful, but we righted ourselves," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Zo's home run really re-shifted momentum."
Carl Crawford went 4-for-4 with three doubles and drove in two runs for the Rays, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the American League East-leading Yankees. New York lost at home to Baltimore, 6-2, on Tuesday.
Dan Johnson and B.J. Upton also went deep for Tampa Bay, which also picked up its franchise-record 41st road win one night after getting blasted by the Red Sox, 12-5.
David Price (17-6) expanded his club record for victories in a single season as he allowed just two hits and a pair of runs over six innings.
Victor Martinez had a two-run double in the first inning for the Red Sox, who lost for the fourth time in five tries and fell 7 1/2 games behind the wild card-leading Rays.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-5) was touched for eight hits and eight runs over 4 2/3 innings and fell to 2-6 lifetime against Tampa Bay.
"Lack of command caught up with him and kind of caught up in a hurry," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of his starting pitcher.
Clay Buchholz was scheduled to start tonight's tilt on three days' rest had the Red Sox earned a shot at a sweep, but with last night's loss, Francona decided to scratch him, instead opting for the veteran knuckleballer Wakefield.
Wakefield will be making his first start since Aug. 25, when he allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings of a 4-2 loss to Seattle. He is just 3-10 on the year with a 5.19 ERA and hasn't pitched in a Red Sox win since July 2.
The 44-year-old right-hander is 20-6 lifetime against the Rays with a 3.60 ERA in 43 games, 33 of which have been starts. However he lost to them the last time he faced them, allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings back on July 7.
Tampa, meanwhile, will counter with righty Matt Garza, who is 3-0 in his last four starts and has a 1.32 ERA in six outings since the start of August. Tonight's outing will also be his seventh (six starts) against the Red Sox this season. He is 2-1 with a save and a 4.11 ERA against on the year.
Garza exchanged words with Maddon on Friday when he was taken out against Baltimore with two outs in the sixth. Garza earned the win that night, surrendering a run and five hits with three walks.
"I love the fact that our pitchers don't want to come out of the game, and he's kind of trained himself to pitch farther," Maddon said. "However, it was very hot (Friday) and humid, and I want to try and keep people fresh for the rest of the year."
Tampa is 11-6 against the Red Sox this season.
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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 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.
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.
Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.