08/27/2008 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Ludwick finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted in, as St. Louis used a four-run eighth inning to upend Milwaukee, 5-3, and earn a split in the two-game set with the Brewers.
Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina each had two hits, while Aaron Miles drove in the go-ahead run for the Cardinals, who have won four of six. St. Louis also moved within 3 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Wild Card standings.
Adam Wainwright allowed three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits in a six- inning start for the Cardinals, but didn't factor into the decision. Ryan Franklin (5-5) threw a scoreless eighth to earn the win.
David Riske (1-2) took the loss for the Brewers after giving up three runs in the eighth. Starter Manny Parra was solid in six-plus innings, as he gave up one run on six hits and struck out seven for Milwaukee, whose five-game win streak ended.
The Brewers also fell to six games back of the Chicago Cubs for first in the NL Central.
Mike Cameron and Jason Kendall each finished with two hits and an RBI, while J.J. Hardy had three hits and drove in a run for the Brewers.
The Cardinals trailed by two heading into the bottom of the eighth, but got a rally started when Pujols hit a lead off double off Riske. Ludwick followed with another double to plate the run, and Troy Glaus singled to tie the game.
After Riske got Molina to ground out, Brian Shouse came on in relief to face pinch-hitter Miles with Glaus on third. Miles sent a grounder to shortstop, but Glaus slid under the tag as Hardy went home with the throw.
Braden Looper sacrificed Miles to second with a bunt and Felipe Lopez singled to center to bring another run home for a 5-3 lead.
Chris Perez entered for the Cardinals in the ninth and gave up a one-out double to Hardy. However, he struck out Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder to end the game and notch his sixth save.
Hardy's RBI single in the third inning plated Kendall, who had singled, went to second on an error and advanced to third on a bunt. In the fourth, consecutive doubles from Corey Hart and Cameron gave the Brewers another run. A ground out put Cameron on third base for Kendall, whose single made it 3-0, Milwaukee.
Ludwick hammered a two-out pitch from Parra in the sixth for a solo homer to bring St. Louis within two.
Game Notes
Milwaukee left 10 runners on base, while the Cardinals stranded eight...On Wednesday, St. Louis purchased the contract of first baseman Josh Phelps from Triple-A Memphis, and optioned pitcher Jaime Garcia to Memphis....Phelps was 1-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance on Wednesday...The Cardinals also transferred pitcher Mark Mulder to the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday.
<< Rangers sweep Royals in KC
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 3-for-4 with a
pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored while Brandon Boggs homered, as the
Texas Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with
a 3-2 v
<< Indians win 10th straight to sweep Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Shoppach and Shin-Soo Choo each hit
a two-run homer to lead Cleveland to its 10th straight victory, as the Indians
edged the Tigers, 9-7, in the finale of a three-game set.
Grady Sizemore ended wit
<< Oswalt strong again as Astros top Reds
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Oswalt continued his mastery of the Reds
with seven strong innings to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 win over
Cincinnati at Minute Maid Park.
Oswalt (12-9) allowed one run on five hits with
<< Pedroia helps BoSox slam Yanks
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and
Dustin Pedroia added a grand slam as Boston routed the New York Yankees,
11-3, in the middle contest of a three-game set from Yankee Stadium.
Jacoby Ellsbu
Angels' Kendrick and Aybar leave game early >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim second baseman
Howie Kendrick and shortstop Erick Aybar both left Wednesday's 6-5 loss to
the Oakland Athletics with hamstring injuries.
Kendrick was running to second ba
Angels recall Willits from disabled list >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim activated
outfielder Reggie Willits from the 15-day disabled list prior to Wednesday's
6-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Willits pinch-hit for Mike Napoli in the ninth t
Brown, Davis help A's hold off Angels >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Emil Brown hit a two-run homer and finished
with three runs driven in, while Rajai Davis scored twice and notched his
first career four-hit game, as the Oakland Athletics edged the Los Angeles
Angels
Angels activate Willits from disabled list >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim activated
outfielder Reggie Willits from the 15-day disabled list prior to Wednesday's
6-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Willits pinch-hit for Mike Napoli in the ninth t
Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.
“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.
“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).
Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.
Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.
The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.
Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game
Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.
Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.
Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”
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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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