07/04/2009 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Sadowski got plenty of run support while throwing seven scoreless innings, as the Giants erupted offensively in a 13-0 whipping of the Astros.
Sadowski (2-0), who made his major league debut Sunday at Milwaukee and threw six shutout innings, allowed just three hits and a walk while fanning four for San Francisco, which was coming off a 5-5 road trip.
Nate Schierholtz and Edgar Renteria each contributed three hits to the onslaught, Pablo Sandoval added two more, including a homer and three RBI, and Travis Ishikawa belted a three-run homer for the victors.
Houston starter Felipe Paulino (2-5) lasted just two innings, getting tattooed for nine runs -- eight earned -- on nine hits for the Astros, who lost the opener of this three-game set after taking three of four from San Diego.
Sandoval got the rout started with a two-run homer in the first, scoring Randy Winn. Schierholtz followed with a single and later scored on a passed ball.
The Giants got more than they needed in the second. With two on and one out, Winn tripled to the gap in right-center for a 5-0 lead and came around on Schierholtz's two-out single. Renteria made it first and third with a base hit, and Ishikawa pounded an 0-1 changeup over the wall in right-center.
The three-run bomb was originally ruled a double, but instant replay was used and overturned the call to complete the six-run frame.
Jeff Fulchino toed the rubber in the home third and continued to serve as a punching dummy for the hosts. Aaron Rowand doubled with two outs, and the next four Giants recorded run-scoring hits.
Andres Torres hit a pinch-hit single, Sandoval followed with a triple and Schierholtz and Renteria capped the inning with a double and single, respectively, as the scoreboard ballooned to 13-0.
Sadowski allowed just one hit through six innings, and Jonathan Sanchez polished off the shutout with two scoreless frames of relief.
Game Notes
It was the first meeting of the season between the clubs...San Fran has won four straight as the host...Juan Uribe went 0-for-5 for the Giants, the only starting position player for the team not to register a hit...The Astros did not have any extra-base hits, compared to seven for the Giants.
<< Report: NHL to investigate Blackhawks' qualifying offers
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly under
investigation by the NHL for failing to tender qualifying offers to several
restricted free agents by the league's set deadline.
According to TSN Canada, th
<< Late miscue forces 'Quakes to share points with RSL
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake
battled to a 1-1 draw in Major League Soccer action at Rio Tinto Stadium on
Friday night.
Arturo Alvarez scored the game's first goal for San Jose before a Chr
<< Bowyer wins crash-filled Nationwide race at Daytona
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clint Bowyer held off Kyle Busch and Carl
Edwards in a green-white-checkered finish to win Friday's Subway Jalapeno 250
and record his first victory at Daytona International Speedway.
Bowyer, the 2008
<< Rangers get just enough offense to top Rays
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Blalock belted a two-run homer and
Tommy Hunter pitched 5 1/3 strong innings to collect his first win in the
majors on his 23rd birthday, as the Texas Rangers downed the Tampa Bay Rays,
3-1, in
Leaving a trail: Turkoglu snubs Portland, to sign with Raptors >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharp-shooting forward Hedo Turkoglu appeared
headed to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday afternoon, but by nightfall
those talks apparently broke off.
In the latest turn of events, TNT basketball an
Ramirez quiet in return but Dodgers still double-up Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez returned from a 50-game
suspension and played only 5 1/2 innings, going 0-for-3 with a walk, two
groundouts and a pop out, but the rest of his Dodger teammates picked up the
slack
Huff leads O's past Angels >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff went 2-for-4 with a three-run home
run, as the Baltimore Orioles hung on to edge the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim, 6-4, in the second test of a four-game series.
Luke Scott stroked a two-ru
Raburn, Tigers use three-run 16th to edge Twins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Raburn's RBI single in the 16th
proved to be the game-winner as the Detroit Tigers took an 11-9 win over the
Minnesota Twins in a 16-inning contest to open a three-get set at the
Metrodo
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting