05/11/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Baseball Betting) - 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 Dodgers to complete a three-game sweep.
Brad Ausmus added a two-run single for Astros, who have won eight of nine. Miguel Tejada went 2-for-4 and scored a pair of runs, while Mark Loretta Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Michael Bourn drove in a run apiece.
Geoff Geary (1-1) earned the win with a scoreless inning in relief of Shawn Chacon, who held the Dodgers to two runs on seven hits over six frames. Jose Valverde only had to record one out for his eighth save.
Jonathan Broxton (1-1) allowed six runs in one-third of an inning for the Dodgers, losers of four straight. Kuroda took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and allowed a run on one hit over 6 2/3 frames, striking out five and walking three.
James Loney hit a two-run homer, while Blake DeWitt went 3-for-4 and scored twice. Andre Ethir had three hits, including a double, and Delwyn Young drove in a run and scored a run.
After managing just one hit through seven innings, the Astros took the lead with five straight singles in the eighth.
Matsui and Tejada started the eighth with singles off Broxton, and the Astros pulled within one when Berkman grounded a single to left to plate Matsui. Lee dropped a single to left to score Tejada and tie the game, then Pence bounced a single back through the middle that allowed Berkman to give the Astros a 4-3 lead when Kemp's throw bounced off the mound.
Pence stole second, and after Wigginton struck out, Ausmus singled through a drawn-in infield to bring in two more runs. Hong-Chih Kuo came on in relief, but was greeted with a pinch-hit double by Darin Erstad. Bourn lofted a sacrifice fly to score Ausmus, before Kuo finally ended the six run, seven hit onslaught with a strikeout of Matsui.
Pence added an RBI double in the ninth, while the Dodgers picked up two runs off Doug Brocail in the bottom half. After putting men on second and third with nobody out, Chin-Lung Hu knocked in DeWitt with a groundout, then Andruw Jones crushed a sac fly to deep center that was snagged by Michael Bourn, who smashed into the wall making the catch. After Mark Sweeney's pinch-hit single, Valverde came on and got Ethier to pop out to third and end the game.
Loney's two-run shot helped the Dodgers to a first inning lead, but they couldn't put another run across against Chacon.
Pence finally broke up Kuroda's no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh, lining a single to left. Ty Wigginton drew a walk, and after Kuroda fell behind pinch-hitter Geoff Blum 1-0, Joe Beimel came on in relief. But, Beimel issued back-to-back walks to Blum and pinch-hitter Loretta to force in Houston's first run.
L.A. tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh, as DeWitt doubled off Wesley Wright, then scored when Matsui couldn't handle Wright's throw on Young's bunt attempt.
Game Notes
The Astros completed their first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since 1992...The Astros left eight men on base, while the Dodgers stranded six...Pence added a pair of stolen bases...The Dodgers begin a three-game series in Milwaukee on Tuesday...The Astros travel to San Francisco on Monday to open a four-game set...Time of game was 3:31...Attendance was 40,217.
<< Brown keys Oakland's win over Rangers
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sweep and clobbered the Texas Rangers, 12-6.
Daric Barton hit a two-run homer an
<< Jazz tie series with OT win; Kobe fights through injury
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doled out 14 assists as the Utah Jazz survived a late surge and downed the Los
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semifin
<< Cubs top D-Backs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daryle Ward's two-run pinch-hit double in
the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the Chicago Cubs over the Arizona
Diamondbacks, 6-4, to complete a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field.
The start of g
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a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss to Mallorca on Sunday in the Spanish La Liga.
Atletic
Holm's first career homer propels Giants past Phillies >>
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run in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in the winning run, as the San
Francisco Giants edged the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3, in the rubber match at
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after the puck hit him in the face.
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Knost rallies for first Nationwide victory >>
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Fort Smith Classic.
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Ibanez homers as Mariners snap skid >>
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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.
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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