05/11/2008 - Seattle, WA (Baseball Betting) - Raul Ibanez launched a monstrous go-ahead two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Ichiro Suzuki was 3-for-4 and scored twice, and Yuniesky Betancourt had a pair of hits and two RBI.
Mariners starter Miguel Batista (3-4) held on for the win despite lasting only 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits and three walks. He struck out six, as the Mariners won for just the second time in their last 12 games.
Chicago starter Gavin Floyd (3-2) left after 3 2/3 innings, having given up five runs on a season-high nine hits and two walks. This came following a contest where Floyd was at the top of his game, as the 25-year-old took a no- hitter into the ninth against the Minnesota Twins in a 7-1 victory.
"I came into this start feeling pretty good and just gave up some runs," Floyd said. "We got the early lead and tried to keep them there but I just wasn't able to do it today."
Orlando Cabrera tied a career-high with four hits and scored a run for Chicago. Carlos Quentin was 2-for-5 with an RBI and scored once for the White Sox, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Seattle took the lead in the third, 3-2, on an upper-deck two-run homer from Ibanez to right field. The hit scored Suzuki, who led off the inning with an infield hit.
The Mariners chased Floyd in the fourth, opening the inning with a single from Kenji Johjima, followed by back-to-back doubles from Wladimir Balentien and Betancourt, the latter of which scored two runs. Floyd stayed on for three more batters, but left after issuing a walk to Adrian Beltre with two outs.
Chicago got one back in the sixth. After Juan Uribe stroked a one-out double, Quentin came through with an RBI single, chasing Batista from the contest.
Ehren Wassermann came on in the eighth for the White Sox, allowing an insurance run on a Miguel Cairo ground-rule double, scoring Betancourt.
J.J. Putz recorded his third save of the season.
Chicago opened the game with three straight singles, the third from Jim Thome plated Cabrera. A.J. Pierzynski then doubled home Quentin to make it 2-0.
Seattle got one back in the bottom half on a Cairo RBI groundout after Suzuki led off with a double and advanced to third on an error.
Game Notes
Seattle has won nine of the last 12 games versus the White Sox at Safeco Field...Suzuki extended his hit streak to 11 games...This was Floyd's shortest outing of the season...Chicago continues on the road, opening a four-game set against the Angels Monday, while Seattle travels to Texas for three, beginning the same day.
<< Garcia pars in playoff to win Players
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Garcia parred the first
playoff hole, the famous island green at 17, to defeat Paul Goydos Sunday and
win The Players Championship.
The win was Garcia's seventh on the PGA Tour, but
<< Greene homers, Young sharp as Padres down Rockies
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Khalil Greene belted a two-run homer run,
and Tadahito Iguchi went 3-for-5 with a run scored and one batted in, as the
San Diego Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies, 6-1, in the finale of a three-
game se
<< Brown keys Oakland's win over Rangers
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Emil Brown finished with four runs batted
in, including a three-run homer, as the Oakland Athletics avoided a weekend
sweep and clobbered the Texas Rangers, 12-6.
Daric Barton hit a two-run homer an
<< Astros bring out brooms against Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hunter Pence went 3-for-4, drove in two
runs and scored twice as the Houston Astros fought off Hiroki Kuroda's no-hit
bid and rallied for six runs in the eighth inning and an 8-5 win over the Los
Angeles
Sunday's NBA Playoff Boxes >>
L.A. LAKERS (115)Radmanovic 1-6 0-0 2, Odom 10-18 5-10 26, Gasol 11-16 1-2 23, Fisher 5-8 1-1 15, Bryant 13-33 6-10 33, Farmar 0-2 0-0 0, Walton 2-6 1-2 5, Turiaf 0-2 0-0 0, Vujacic 4-6 0-0 11, Mbenga 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 46-97 14-25 115.UTAH (123)Kiri
NBA Playoff Capsules >>
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -Andrei Kirilenko blocked Kobe Bryant twice in overtime and converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining as the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Sunday, tying the Western Conference semifinals at 2-2.The
Phantom goal helps Finland edge USA at Worlds >>
Halifax, Nova Scotia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finland scored three times in the
third period, including what turned out to be a phantom goal, to upend the
United States with a contentious 3-2 victory at the 2008 World Hockey
Champio
Duncan shines as Spurs crush Hornets to even series >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Duncan had a dominating performance
with 22 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots, as the Spurs throttled the
New Orleans Hornets, 100-80, evening their Western Conference semifinal series
after f
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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