Santana outshines Carpenter as Mets edge Cards
Baseball Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Santana was solid on the mound, and Nick Evans' two-run double in the fourth inning was the difference, as the Mets edged St. Louis, 3-2, in the finale of a four-game set at Citi Field.
Fernando Tatis drove in the other run for New York, which took three of four from the Cardinals. Santana (9-5) allowed seven hits, two runs -- one earned -- three walks and struck out three over seven innings before handing the ball to the bullpen.
Pedro Feliciano worked around a leadoff single in the eighth, and Francisco Rodriguez overcame a rocky ninth to record his 20th save of the season.
After striking out the first two batters, Rodriguez issued back-to-back walks to Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick before getting Yadier Molina to line out to left field to end the game.
Molina finished 2-for-5 and knocked in a run for St. Louis, which had won five of six entering this series with the Mets. Joe Thurston added a run-scoring single in defeat.
Chris Carpenter (5-2) tossed seven strong innings with only one hiccup when he was touched for three runs in the fourth. The right-hander scattered just four hits, fanned five and did not walk a batter.
St. Louis scratched out a run in the first on a two-out, bloop single to center by Molina and appeared primed for more offense in the second, but Santana got Pujols to fly out to escape a bases-loaded jam.
The Mets pushed three runs across in the fourth to seize the lead. Carpenter had yet to allow a hit through the first three frames, but Luis Castillo and David Wright started the inning with consecutive singles. Tatis stroked a base hit two batters later to put New York on the board, and Evans took a pitch the opposite way to right field for a two-run double.
Thurston muscled a two-out single to center in the sixth, scoring Rick Ankiel, who led off the inning with a double.
Game Notes
Pujols went 1-for-4 and walked...Santana had lost three of his last four starts...St. Louis finished 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.
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Pirates send Snell to minors >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned struggling
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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