Rasmus hits HR on second chance as Cards beat Giants in 10 innings
Baseball Betting Lines
07/01/2009 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pablo Sandoval dropped Colby Rasmus' foul pop up in the 10th frame -- the last of three Giants errors -- then Rasmus slugged a game-winning home run to right-center, as St. Louis edged San Francisco, 2-1, at Busch Stadium.
The home run, Rasmus' eighth of the season, made a loser of Bob Howry (0-4) and a winner of Ryan Franklin (2-0), who pitched one flawless frame. Albert Pujols had two hits and was on base four times and Ryan Ludwick drove in the other run for the Cardinals, who had lost six of seven prior to Wednesday's win.
Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn each had two hits and Bengie Molina drove in the only Giants run. Starter Matt Cain didn't factor in the decision, but allowed just one run on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts over seven frames. His counterpart, Adam Wainwright, went the first nine frames, surrendering one run on six hits with a staggering 12 strikeouts and three walks.
The Cardinals got to Cain in the first then no more after that. Skip Schumaker singled, moved to second on an error, and Ludwick singled him home on a single to right. Chris Duncan lined into a double play to end a further threat.
St. Louis wasted a bases-loaded chance in the third and San Francisco finally scratched out the tying run in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Fred Lewis knocked a double to right, but stayed there on Rowand's infield hit -- a bang-bang play that replays showed Rowand was actually retired on. Winn was then walked to load the bases with nobody out, but one out later, Molina skied a deep sacrifice fly to center.
Nate Schierholtz struck out to end the frame. The Cardinals also loaded the bases in the home half, as Pujols singled, stole second, Duncan walked and a brain cramp on the part of Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria kept the frame alive. The shortstop went to second instead of first on a slow roller and Yadier Molina beat it out to load the bases. Sergio Romo regrouped and struck out Joe Thurston to end the threat.
Game Notes
Cain's ERA sits at 2.48...The Giants have still won six of the last eight meetings...Pujols is batting .337 on the season...Wainwright's earned run average is now at 3.32.
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What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
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.
How to Read Point Spreads
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:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
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 online football betting 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.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
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.