Rays batter Fish for 15 runs in romp
Baseball Betting Lines
06/26/2008 -
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Crawford homered twice and drove in five
runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays scored 10 runs in the fifth inning en route to a
15-3 decimation of the Florida Marlins in the middle contest of their three-
game set at Dolphin Stadium.
Evan Longoria went 3-for-6 with a homer, a double and three runs batted in for
the Rays, winners of two straight, and seven of 10 overall. Ben Zobrist added
a solo homer, and every Tampa Bay starter had a hit and scored a run.
In the midst of the offensive explosion, James Shields (5-5) tossed seven
strong innings, holding the Marlins to a run on four hits, striking out five
without issuing a walk.
"I thought I pitched well tonight," Shields said. "I mean, 15 runs in a game,
it's a little easier to pitch that way. Definitely fun, fun doing that. Yeah,
I scored a couple of runs. I was a little tired after that."
Marlins starter Ryan Tucker (2-2) was shelled in four-plus innings, allowing
seven runs on eight hits in Florida's third straight loss. Reliever Eulogio De
La Cruz was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque before the game and fared even
worse, surrendering six runs -- five earned -- without recording an out.
Mike Jacobs homered for the Marlins, while Dan Uggla added an RBI.
Already leading 4-0, the Rays put the game out of reach in the top of the
fifth, sending 14 batters to the plate in a 10-run explosion. The first nine
batters reached base, and Tampa Bay never looked back.
Crawford started the inning with his second homer of the night, crushing a 2-2
pitch over the wall in right. After B.J. Upton walked and Eric Hinske plated
him with a double, Tucker was pulled in favor of De La Cruz. The reliever got
ahead of Longoria, 0-2, but left a change-up over the plate and it was
launched over the scoreboard in left for an 8-0 lead.
"I just have to do a better job of executing," Tucker said. "It's just a bad
game all around, I thought, for me. Definitely the worst Ive felt since Ive
been here. Nothing was going where I wanted it to. Towards the end of the
game I was getting real tired there."
Walks to Dioner Navarro and Gabe Gross followed by a Zobrist single loaded the
bases, and two more runs came in to score when Hanley Ramirez botched Shields'
grounder to short. Iwamura doubled off the wall in left to plate Shields and
end De La Cruz's night. Logan Kensing came on and allowed a run-scoring
groundout to Crawford and an RBI single to Upton. Longoria made it an even 10
runs with a bloop single for his third RBI of the inning. Kensing retired
Navarro to end the frame, but the 4-0 lead had ballooned to an insurmountable
14-0 gap.
"Guys swung the bats well," Crawford said. "Nobody was giving up their at-
bats. Even when we scored a bunch of runs, guys were still taking every at-
bat like it was their last"
The teams traded solo homers down the stretch, with Jacobs connecting in the
sixth and Zobrist countering in the eighth. Uggla picked up an RBI single in
the eighth and Matt Treanor scored on Iwamura's error in the ninth to secure
the final margin.
The Rays jumped in front in the third on Crawford's three-run blast. Shields
led off with an infield single, and after Iwamura worked a walk, Crawford
blasted a high fastball into the seats in right.
Tampa tacked on another run in the next frame, as Longoria led off with a
double, moved to third on Navarro's infield single and scored when Gross
slapped a single to left.
Game Notes
The 15 runs were a season high for Tampa Bay. The Rays scored 13 runs twice,
most recently June 9 against the Angels. The 10-run inning was also a season
best, topping a pair of seven-run outbursts...The Rays were 8-for-19 with
runners in scoring position, while the Marlins were just 1-for-7...Crawford,
Hinske, Longoria, Navarro and Zobrist all had at least two hits for the
Rays...Matt Garza (5-4) looks to complete the sweep for the Rays in the series
finale on Thursday against Mark Hendrickson (7-5).
<< Soto carries Cubs past O's
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geovany Soto was 2-for-3 with three runs batted
in, as the Chicago Cubs took advantage of a patchwork Baltimore pitching
performance with a 7-4 victory at Wrigley Field.
Jim Edmonds homered and drove in
<< Royals sweep Rockies to continue interleague success
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Gload had two doubles, two runs batted
in and scored as the streaking Kansas City Royals completed a three-game sweep
of the Colorado Rockies with a 4-2 victory.
David DeJesus and Alex Gordon each h
<< Wright clubs 2 HRs in return to lineup as Mets pound Mariners
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a much-needed day off, David Wright
homered in his first two at-bats and the New York Mets avoided a three-game
sweep with 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners at Shea Stadium.
Wright had played e
<< Orioles scratch Burres from start
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles scratched left-
handed pitcher Brian Burres from his scheduled start Wednesday due to an
undiagnosed stomach ailment.
Burres was replaced on the mound by righty Matt
<< Griffey homers, Reds edge Toronto in 10 innings
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jay Bruce hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th
inning to lift the Cincinnati Reds over the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-5, in the
second contest of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit a two-run
Cinderella in cleats: Fresno State wins College World Series >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Detwiler went 4-for-4, including a pair of
homers, and drove in all the runs for Fresno State, which won its first
College World Series championship with a 6-1 victory over Georgia.
Georgia used an
Zito finally posts interleague win as Giants top Tribe >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito put together his best and
longest outing of the season, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4-1
victory over the Cleveland Indians in the middle contest of a three-game
interle
Ramirez homer lifts Rangers over Astros; Chacon attacks GM >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Ramirez collected the first two hits of
his major league career -- including a go-ahead two-run home run -- as the
Texas Rangers edged the Houston Astros, 3-2, in the second of a three-game
series
Confrontation with GM leads to suspension for Astros' Chacon >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have suspended pitcher
Shawn Chacon indefinitely for insubordination to the team, general manager Ed
Wade announced on Wednesday.
"We have suspended Shawn Chacon, pending final resol
Stults, Dodgers blank White Sox >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Stults tossed his first career
shutout, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox, 5-0, in
the middle installment of a three-game interleague set at Chavez Ravine.
Stults (2
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.
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.
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