09/28/2008 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Drew's two-run single capped a three- run eighth inning, as the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied past the Colorado Rockies, 6-4, in the middle installment of a three-game series.
Adam Dunn homered for the D-Backs, who have won five of their last eight contests. Brandon Webb, who captured the 2006 NL Cy Young Award and is making a strong push for a second, came away with a no-decision after he was tagged for four runs on six hits over seven innings of work. He also stroked a two- run double to aid his cause. The right-hander finished the season with a 22-7 record and 3.30 earned run average. Brandon Lyon (3-5) tossed a scoreless eighth to get the win.
"I wish we could have got the win for him (Webb)," said Drew. "It's one of those things that didn't happen, but he pitched well, battled through some things. That's how he has been all year. He has been great for us."
Ryan Spilborghs finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Colorado, which has dropped four of its last seven games. Starter Glendon Rusch gave up three runs on six hits in just four innings. Manuel Corpas (3-4) absorbed the loss after he was touched for three runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning.
The D-Backs erased a 4-3 deficit with a three-run surge in the eighth off Corpas. Dunn had a leadoff double and came around to score on a one-out single by Mark Reynolds. One out later, pinch-hitter Miguel Montero was hit by a pitch and pinch-hitter Jeff Salazar legged out a grounder to deep short for an infield single. It loaded the bases for Drew, who lined a two-run single to right to give the home squad a 6-4 lead.
Chad Qualls pitched a perfect ninth, recording a pair of strikeouts, to notch his ninth save.
"I'm glad he (Webb) got a no decision instead of a loss out of it, but we came back nicely again," said Arizona manager Bob Melvin. "(We) had some quality at-bats there again when we were down."
Brad Hawpe's triple scored Spilborghs in the first, but Dunn homered to center field leading off a three-run fourth. Chris Snyder and David Eckstein stroked consecutive two-out singles, and Webb followed with his fourth double of the year.
Colorado then countered with three runs in the fifth. After Ian Stewart flied out, Webb uncharacteristically plunked Chris Iannetta and Clint Barmes, and Adam Melhuse ripped an RBI double to left. Seth Smith hit a grounder past the drawn-in infield, scoring Barmes, and Spilborghs slapped a run-scoring single to center to give the Rockies a 4-3 lead.
Game Notes
Arizona improved to 14-3 against the Rockies this season...The D-Backs have won six straight at home...Dunn's homer upped his season total to 40...Spilborghs extended his hitting streak to nine games...Arizona left eight men on base, while the Rockies stranded five.
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Jarrett L
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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