08/16/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roy Halladay has the unenviable task of slowing down a red- hot Boston lineup this evening, when the Toronto Blue Jays open a rain- shortened two-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
This series was supposed to get underway on Friday, but rain in the Boston area caused a postponement. That contest will be made up as part of a day- night doubleheader on Saturday, September 13.
Halladay enters tonight's tilt with the third-best earned run average in the American League at 2.72, but will have his hands full with a Red Sox offense which has come alive of late.
Boston outscored the Texas Rangers by a 37-21 margin in sweeping a three-game set earlier this week, culminating with a 10-0 drubbing in Thursday's finale. David Ortiz belted a three-run homer as part of a nine-run second inning, while Dustin Pedroia finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and a run batted in. Jed Lowrie ended with three hits and an RBI to help the Red Sox to their fourth straight win.
Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-2) had more than enough support, as he surrendered six hits with five walks over seven scoreless innings to win his third consecutive outing.
Since Manny Ramirez was shipped to Los Angeles, Boston's lineup has managed a league-best 7.23 runs per game, compared to the 4.94 runs per contest it had managed with the enigmatic outfielder. Boston is also 10-3 since the trade.
Tonight the Red Sox unveil their newest acquisition, as veteran right-hander Paul Byrd makes his Boston debut. Byrd, who was acquired from Cleveland for a player to be named later or cash considerations on Tuesday, takes the spot left vacated by the injured Tim Wakefield.
Byrd struggled for the Indians for much of this season and is 7-10 with a 4.53 ERA for the year. However, he won his final four starts with the Tribe, including a victory over Halladay and the Jays the last time he toed the rubber on August 9.
Halladay, meanwhile, will be pitching on some extra rest after tossing a career-high 130 pitches in losing that game to Cleveland. The former Cy Young Award winner lost for the second time in three starts after he gave up four runs (1 earned) and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings of that one, which dropped him to 13-9 on the season.
The 31-year-old righty has had his share of problems with the Red Sox over the course of his career, posting a 10-11 mark with a 4.66 ERA in 34 games, 31 of which have been starts, against Boston. He was a hard-luck loser the last time he faced the Red Sox, as he surrendered just a run and five hits in 8 2/3 innings of a 1-0 loss on April 29.
Toronto comes into this series on a sour note after the club was denied a sweep of its four-game series with the Detroit Tigers. The Jays dropped a 5-1 decision in Thursday's finale at Comerica Park.
Lyle Overbay provided the offense for the Blue Jays, who lost for only the fourth time in their last 11 tries. Reliever Jason Frasor (1-2) was charged with the loss after he was responsible for all five Detroit runs while recording just one out in the eighth inning.
Toronto has won four of its six matchups with the Red Sox this season and eight of the last 10 encounters between the teams dating back to last year.
<< White Sox try for rebound against A's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox hope to re-gain sole possession of
first place in the AL Central this afternoon, when they play the second of
three games against the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.
Chicago fell into a
<< Playoff-hungry Twins go for second straight win over Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins try to gain sole possession of first
place in the AL Central this afternoon, when they play the second of three
games against the Seattle Mariners at the Metrodome.
Minnesota moved into a tie wit
<< Georgia tops preseason AP football poll
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia will start the 2008 college football
season as the top-ranked team in the Associated Press poll.
The Bulldogs finished last year as the No. 2 team in the country, behind only
Southeastern Conferenc
<< Angels aim to even weekend set with Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians try to hand the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim a rare series loss this afternoon in the middle test of a three-game
series at Progressive Field.
Los Angeles, which owns baseball's best record at 75-
Edwards grabs pole for Nationwide race at Michigan >>
Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards won the pole for Saturday's
Carfax 250 Nationwide Series race at the Michigan International Speedway. The
No.60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford driver and defending series champion rounded
the two
Offiong propels Hamilton to another win >>
Inverness, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Offiong's goal in first-half
stoppage time allowed newly-promoted Hamilton to continue its dream start to
the Scottish Premier League season as the team slipped past Inverness, 1-0 on
Saturda
Nasri nets winner in Arsenal debut >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samir Nasri could not have envisioned a
better start to his Arsenal career as the Frenchman scored four minutes into
his first match for the Gunners, handing the team a 1-0 win over West Bromwich
at the
Del Potro routs Haas to reach DC final >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro continued
his sizzling play of late with an easy straight-set victory over Germany's
Tommy Haas in the semifinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
The second-seeded d
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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