Rodriguez earns 34th save against A's
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2008 -
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Rivera homered in the sixth to break a
three-all tie and Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 34th save, tying a pre-
All-Star break record, as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won 7-4 in the
rubber match of a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics.
"I don't want to pay attention to it right now. John Smoltz is one of the best
pitchers in the big leagues," Rodriguez said. "I just want to do my job. When
they call the bullpen, I want to get it done. I just want to stay healthy for
the rest of the season."
Joe Saunders (12-4) struck out five batters in 6 1/3 innings allowing four
runs -- two earned -- on six hits and two walks. Rodriguez tied Smoltz's
record set in 2003 while with Atlanta with the save and Saunders' 12 victories
tie Arizona's Brandon Webb for the major league lead.
"Twelve (wins) means I've gotten off to a good start. I didn't have much
today, but I got some ground balls," Saunders said. "I think I found my
curveball in the sixth inning. It was a battle today."
Rivera had three RBI and Erick Aybar hit a solo home run and scored twice for
the Angels, who have won two in a row and three of four.
Dana Eveland pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up three runs on four hits and a
walk while striking out four as Oakland lost its second straight game and
fourth in its last five.
Keith Foulke (0-3) took the loss allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in
one-third of an inning.
Mark Ellis was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while Rajai Davis had a double and
a run scored for the Athletics.
A two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the Angels a 5-3 lead.
Torii Hunter doubled to left with one out and remained there on a Howie
Kendrick groundout. The A's brought Foulke in for Eveland to get the final
out, but Casey Kotchman doubled to plate Hunter and tie the game. Rivera
followed with his first homer this season.
Oakland had a chance to tie the game in the seventh, but Rob Bowen botched it
with poor baserunning. Carlos Gonzalez hit a one-out single and come home on a
Bowen grounder that Aybar threw wide of first, allowing Gonzalez to come all
the way home as Bowen advanced to third. Donnie Murphy followed with a walk
before Davis hit a grounder to third baseman Chone Figgins, who got Murphy out
in a rundown as he tried to score on the play.
Aybar atoned for his throwing error in the bottom of the inning with his third
homer.
The Angels scored for a third consecutive inning in the eighth on a Reggie
Willits one-out sacrifice fly. Kendrick scored on the play after leading off
with a single, moving to second on a passed ball, and to third on a Kotchman
sacrifice fly.
Los Angeles scored in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. Aybar
moved to third on a Vladimir Guerrero two-out single after reaching on a
fielder's choice in the first inning. Aybar then scored on an Eveland wild
pitch.
Kendrick led off the second with a double and advanced to third on a Kotchman
groundout. Kendrick scored when Rivera grounded to shortstop Bobby Crosby, who
failed to get Kendrick on a throw home instead of taking the easy out at
first.
The A's cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth. Crosby hit a one-out
single before scoring on an Emil Brown double one batter later. Crosby stopped
at third but came home on a Gary Matthews throwing error while Brown was
thrown out trying to reach third.
Murphy walked and Davis doubled to lead off the sixth. Ellis brought both
runners home with a single to center giving Oakland a 3-2 lead.
Game Notes
All three of switch-hitter Aybar's home runs have come from the left side of
the plate...Saunders is 4-1 lifetime against Oakland...Anaheim has won eight
of its last 12.
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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.
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