Blalock's HR in ninth lifts Rangers over Angels
Baseball Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Blalock went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs, including a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning, to lift the Rangers past the Angels, 9-7, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
After the Angels scored three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game, Los Angeles sent Justin Speier (3-2) to the mound in the bottom half. Michael Young stroked a single to center to begin the inning, but David Murphy and Marlon Byrd recorded two quick outs. Blalock then stepped to the plate and belted a first-pitch fastball over the center-field wall to give Texas the improbable win.
Young went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Rangers, who have won two straight after a three-game skid. Chris Davis drove in a pair of runs, while Murphy and Julio Borbon each knocked in a run.
Frank Francisco (2-1) picked up the win despite giving up three runs on two hits in the ninth. Francisco blew his second save of the season. Starter Kevin Millwood went 6 1/3 frames, allowing four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
Juan Rivera went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer in the ninth for the Angels, who have dropped two in a row after a six-game winning streak. Torii Hunter stroked a two-run double, while Maicer Izturis and Chone Figgins each drove in a run.
Jered Weaver went 5 1/3 frames, allowing seven runs on eight hits with three strikeouts for LA.
The Rangers thought they had the game all wrapped up when they sent Francisco to the mound in the top of the ninth with a three-run cushion. In fact, Francisco was down to the last out of the game despite walking Bobby Abreu and Hunter. But Rivera stepped to the plate and drove a 2-0 fastball just over the wall in right-center field to deadlock the contest.
The Rangers scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning to break a scoreless contest. Blalock got things started with a one-out, solo home run over the wall in right-center field. Nelson Cruz then singled, stole second, and scored on Davis' single to right.
Los Angeles plated a run in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to one. Vladimir Guerrero and Rivera singled to put men on the corners with one out. Izturis stepped to the plate and lined into a sacrifice double play.
Texas responded with five runs in the home half of the frame to extend its margin to 7-1. Byrd walked and Blalock doubled to put men on second and third with nobody out. Pinch-hitter Borbon then stroked an RBI single, before Blalock scored on a wild pitch. Davis added an RBI groundout, while Young and Murphy hit RBI singles later in the frame.
The Angels put a three-spot on the board in the seventh. Erick Aybar hit a one-out single, advanced to second on Borbon's fielding error, and scored on Figgins' triple to center. After Abreu walked, Hunter stroked a two-run double to right. Darren O'Day got the Rangers out of a jam after taking over for Millwood on the hill.
Game Notes
LA finished a six-game road trip with a 4-2 record...Cruz left the game in the bottom of the sixth with a stiff back...The Rangers have now won six of their last eight matchups with LA and swept a three-game set from the Angels in Arlington from May 15-17...Texas will welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to town for a three-game set, starting Friday. LA will begin a 10-game homestand with a four-game set with the Baltimore Orioles, starting Thursday.
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pablo Sandoval dropped Colby Rasmus' foul pop up in the 10th frame -- the last of three Giants errors -- then Rasmus slugged a game-winning home run to right-center, as St. Louis edged San Francisco, 2-1, at
<< Argos start season on right foot, blow out Tiger-Cats
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kerry Joseph threw for 227 yards and three
touchdowns, as the Toronto Argonauts got the CFL season started with a 30-17
win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a battle of 2008 also-rans.
Joseph completed 1
<< Report: Clippers send Randolph to Memphis for Richardson
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers reportedly cleared
some cap space for 2010, sending forward Zach Randolph to Memphis in exchange
for forward/guard Quentin Richardson.
Several media sources are reporting the exch
<< Braden, A's take series from Detroit
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Braden threw seven strong innings, and
Jack Cust and Jason Giambi each hit a two-run homer, as the Oakland Athletics
defeated Detroit, 5-1, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Braden (6-7) al
<< Ottawa brings back Neil
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators announced on Wednesday that
they have re-signed right-winger Chris Neil to a four-year contract worth a
reported $8 million.
The Ottawa Sun reports Neil chose to stay in Ottawa despite a
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the same day they lost forward Marian Gaborik to free agency, the Minnesota Wild made a big splash by coming to terms with right wing Martin Havlat on a six-year contract. The Minneapolis Star-T
Moehler, Astros dominate Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Brian Moehler, largely ineffective so
far this season, pitched six solid innings of one-run ball and a three-run
throwing error by Chase Headley opened the floodgates, as Houston buried San
Diego,
Montreal beats Calgary in Grey Cup rematch >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chip Cox returned a fumble 81 yards for a
touchdown late in the fourth quarter, sealing Montreal's 40-27 win over
Calgary in the season opener for both teams, a rematch of last year's Grey Cup
matchup
Yankees' Nady to have Tommy John surgery >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady will
undergo ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow next Wednesday.
The Tommy John surgical procedure will be performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum.
"I'm extremely disa
Sedin twins headline first day of NHL free agency >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday marked the beginning of the
NHL's free agency period, and two of the biggest players on the open market
opted to stay put.
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forwards Daniel and Henrik
With all the style and sex appeal of Las Vegas, MySportsbook.com is without a doubt the coolest online sportsbook on the Internet.
At MySportsbook.com, players get to enjoy the luxury of a five star sportsbook, a racebook that's second to none, a casino with all the bells and whistles, and a swanky new poker room!
MySportsbook also has a unique games room where players can go head-to-head for cash playing such things as sports trivia and fantasy games, popular arcade games, word and memory games, and more.
Throughout MySportsbook, visitors and members are treated to informative sports news and sports betting stats Sports matchup reports and sports betting trends as well as entertaining columns written by colorful personalities.
The management at MySportsbook has been in the online gaming business since 1997. As a result of this success, management has earned a coveted spot on eGaming Review's "Power 50" list, which recognizes leaders in online gaming.
With MySportsbook.com , management's goal is to provide players with an exciting place to experience the thrill of gaming in a safe and trustworthy environment.
Thus, players at MySportsbook are assured of getting top notch customer service while having a wickedly good time.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.