Buehrle helps White Sox complete second straight shutout of Royals
Baseball Betting Lines
08/14/2008 -
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 this three-game set, Javier Vazquez blanked the
Royals for eight innings. Buehrle (10-10) followed that performance by giving
up just five hits while walking none and striking out five. Over his past two
outings, both wins, Buehrle has allowed just one run in 14 innings pitched.
"I thought he had one of his better fastballs that he's had this season,"
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Buehrle. "He wasn't dominant, but he
was darn good."
Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey, Jr. each finished 1-for-3 with an RBI for the
White Sox, who have won three of four. Chicago also maintained its half-game
lead over Minnesota in the AL Central, as the Twins beat the Yankees earlier
Wednesday.
Luke Hochevar (6-11) got tagged with the loss despite a solid start in which
he allowed three runs on five hits in seven frames. The former number one
overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft struck out four and walked one in the loss.
Billy Butler had two of the five hits for Kansas City, which has lost six of
seven.
"I thought Luke pitched extremely well after the first inning," Royals manager
Trey Hillman said. "He really had trouble using all of his pitches in the
first. After that I thought he was outstanding. They pitched two outstanding
ballgames against us. It's hard to win when you don't score any runs."
The White Sox backed Buehrle with two runs in the first inning. Orlando
Cabrera led off with a single and went to second on Tony Pena's throwing
error. A.J. Pierzynski then sacrificed Cabrera to third, and Dye doubled to
center to bring the run in. Later, Griffey singled to plate Dye for a 2-0
lead.
Consecutive singles from Juan Uribe and Chris Getz began the home fifth,
putting runners on the corners. A ground out put them both in scoring position
for Pierzynski, who drove in Uribe with a ground out to short.
Buehrle, meanwhile, worked out of a few jams. After putting runners in scoring
position with two outs in the second, he struck out John Buck to end the
threat. In the following frame, Kansas City again had runners in scoring
position, with one out -- but Buehrle fanned David DeJesus and Jose Guillen to
escape.
The Chicago starter set the Royals down in order in the fifth, sixth and
seventh before Octavio Dotel took over for the eighth and worked a 1-2-3
inning.
Konerko's RBI single in the home eighth plated Pierzynski for the final White
Sox run, and Bobby Jenks was perfect in the ninth to close out the game.
Game Notes
The White Sox last won consecutive shutouts on April 12-13, both against
Detroit...On Wednesday, Chicago agreed to terms with infielder Gordon Beckham
on a minor league contract. Beckham was the club's first-round pick and the
eighth overall selection of the 2008 draft. The University of Georgia product
hit .411 with 28 homers and 77 runs batted in this past season...Hochevar has
lost his past three starts.
<< 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
<< Hawpe, Rox edge D'Backs
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
install
<< 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
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.
Izturis leaves after injuring thumb >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortstop Maicer
Izturis left Wednesday's contest against the Seattle Mariners in the top of
the ninth with an injury to his thumb.
Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grounder towards
Zobrist, Rays edge A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist hit the go-ahead RBI double in the
seventh and the Rays took the second test of their three-game series against
the Athletics, 3-2, at McAfee Coliseum.
Andy Sonnanstine (12-6) threw his third
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.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
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.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
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