Iwamura and Duke help Pirates down D'Backs

Baseball Betting Lines

04/10/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Akinori Iwamura went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and Zach Duke threw seven solid innings, as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-3, in the middle contest of a three-game series.

Duke (2-0) gave up two runs on four hits and two walks, and struck out two for the Pirates, who snapped a two-game slide. The left-hander improved upon his first start of the season, when he gave up two runs in five innings against the Dodgers on Monday.

Jeff Clement also homered for Pittsburgh, while Andy LaRoche was 2-for-4 and scored once.

Arizona's Dan Haren (1-1) had limited the Padres to a run in seven innings in his first start of the season, but was hit for six runs (five earned) in 6 2/3 innings Saturday. Haren allowed nine hits and walked two, but also struck out nine.

Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer and finished 2-for-4 for the Diamondbacks, who had won their last two.

Staring at a four-run deficit, the Diamondbacks threatened in the bottom of the eighth. Facing Jack Taschner, Kelly Johnson doubled and pinch-hitter Rusty Ryal walked before the Pirates brought in Brendan Donnelly to pitch.

Donnelly walked Conor Jackson to fill the bases, and Tony Abreu flied out to center to bring in Johnson. The other two runners advanced into scoring position after Andrew McCutchen threw the ball into open space in the infield.

However, Donnelly struck out Justin Upton before Javier Lopez struck out Adam LaRoche to end the threat. Octavio Dotel then worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season.

The Pirates got to Haren in the first inning, which Iwamura led off with a single. He went to second on a McCutchen groundout before scoring on Lastings Milledge's single to center.

Clement began the second with a homer to right, and the Pirates tacked on three more in the fourth.

With a runner on second and two down, Ronny Cedeno doubled to left to plate the run. Iwamura followed with a two-run blast to right, making it a 5-0 game.

Duke kept Arizona off the scoreboard in efficient fashion, facing the minimum through three innings. He also didn't allow a runner past first base through the first six innings.

Pittsburgh made it 6-0 in the top of the seventh, when McCutchen scored from third on Johnson's fielding error. Haren didn't make it out of the inning, as Jordan Norberto came in to get the final out.

In the bottom half, Adam LaRoche doubled before Reynolds belted a homer to left with one out. Duke, though, retired the next two batters to complete his outing.

Game Notes

Arizona catcher Miguel Montero left the game after suffering an apparent knee injury running to first in the bottom of the second...Cedeno, McCutchen and Garrett Jones each had a stolen base for Pittsburgh.

Wwwstartribune Baseball Betting News

<< Preds climb up ladder in West with SO win over Blues
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Erat scored the lone goal of the shootout as the Nashville Predators closed out their regular season with a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. In the second round, Erat skated in on net and put

<< Marlins rally in the ninth to down Dodgers
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Ronny Paulino hit a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and Jorge Cantu followed with a sacrifice fly, as the Florida Marlins rallied to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers

<< Sharp-shooting Sixers tame Grizzlies
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marreese Speights scored all 22 of his points in the second half and the Sixers tied a franchise record by sinking 14 shots from beyond the arc in a 120-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Jason Kapono led

<< Stamkos nets 50th goal, scores winner in shootout
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Stamkos scored twice to become the third- youngest player in NHL history to notch 50 goals in a season, and appropriately buried the shootout winner in Tampa Bay's 4-3 win over Florida. At j

<< Boston College wins NCAA men's ice hockey title
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cam Atkinson's two goals and 20 saves from John Muse led Boston College to a 5-0 victory over Wisconsin in the 2010 NCAA men's ice hockey championship game from Ford Field. Muse, who recorded his third

Rookie Opara leads San Jose to win at Chicago >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Jose rookie Ike Opara scored in the 82nd minute, leading the Earthquakes to a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Saturday night. San Jose won just one match on the road last season and fin

Buddle brace leads L.A. past Houston >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edson Buddle scored two goals to lead the Los Angeles Galaxy over the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium in Major League Soccer action on Saturday night. Buddle has now scored all five of the Galaxy's

Celtics top Bucks in ugly affair >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce had 24 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 105-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in a potential Eastern Conference playoff preview. Entering Saturday's game, Boston held the fourth spo

Kamara leads Kansas City over Colorado >>
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kei Kamara scored the lone goal in the 48th minute, and the Kansas City Wizards edged the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on Saturday at CommunityAmerica Ballpark for their second straight win to start the year. The W

Avila leaves it late as Hoops earn draw with Columbus >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew and FC Dallas battled to a 2-2 draw in Major League Soccer action at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday night. Jeff Cunningham opened the scoring with a 29th minute penalty kick for FC Dallas (0-0

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

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 online football betting 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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook that aims to keep betting fun. The company sees itself as a premier provider of a top-shelf gambling entertainment experience. MySportsbook knows that this can not be accomplished if gamblers are struggling through the betting process, so the emphasis is put on simplicity and ease of use.

Established in 1997, MySportsbook was the first sportsbook to offer the Instant eCheck method, and has since continued on to be one of the most innovate and fastest growing internet sportsbooks the industry has seen. A player doesn’t have to look very far before coming across one of the many sportsbooks that have cloned MySportsbook’s written policies, web pages and advertising campaign, hoping to bottle some of MySportsbook’s magic.

Although MySportsbook’s growth is largely attributed to their talented in-house marketing team, every successful bookmaker will agree that bringing the players in is only half of the battle. In a time when most internet sportsbook were nickel-and-diming players, MySportsbook was creating ways to make bonuses automatic and absent of fine print, while offering all payouts free of charge. This sportsbook also accepts Visa & Mastercard sportsbook.

Almost everything on the online sportsbook site is set in the model of simplicity, making the CS clerk’s job easy as well. Each account action made online results in an automated email sent to the client. When calling MySportsbook, the player feels as if his call is in the united states as no accents can be heard through a state of the art telecommunications system. Few online sportsbooks can compete with My Sportsbook when it comes to offering a fun and hassle-free experience to the small to moderate sized gambler.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.