07/25/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh southpaw Zach Duke tries to end a seven-start winless skid tonight when the Pirates host the San Diego Padres in game two of a four-game series at PNC Park.
Duke, a 20th-round draft pick in 2001, was 4-4 on the season and had a 4.10 earned run average after a 5-3 defeat of the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 9 in Pittsburgh.
He's 0-3 in seven outings since, including consecutive losses on July 11 and 20 in which he's gave up 20 hits and 14 runs in 11 innings, walking two and striking out nine.
The Clifton, Texas native is 1-1 in a pair of lifetime starts against the Padres, allowing 10 hits and five runs in 13 1/3 innings.
San Diego counters with Korean-born righty Cha Seung Baek, who'll make his 11th National League appearance of the season.
The 28-year-old was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 10 games with Seattle and has since gone 2-4 in 10 more appearances with the Padres.
Overall, he's allowed 80 hits and 43 earned runs in 78 1/3 innings, including nine starts in 20 outings.
Baek, who's never faced the Pirates, is 2-0 in 10 road games this season, allowing 13 runs in 27 hits in 34 1/3 innings.
On Thursday, Yoslan Herrera was solid on the mound to pick up his first major league win, and the Pirates made short work of the Padres, 9-1. Xavier Nady and Jason Bay clubbed solo homers for the Pirates, who have rattled off four straight wins after a five-game skid.
Herrera (1-1) tossed six innings of scoreless, six-hit ball while fanning four batters and walking just one.
Clay Hensley (1-1) took the loss as he was touched for six runs on seven hits. Hensley, who has not started since last August and has made just three relief appearances this season, got the call in place of left-hander Randy Wolf, who was dealt to Houston earlier this week.
Adrian Gonzalez knocked in the only run for San Diego, which has dropped three straight and 9-of-10 overall.
San Diego was 6-1 against the Bucs last season and has won 11 of the 13 meetings since the start of the 2006 campaign.
<< Jets ink Gholston
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets have reportedly signed their
first round draft choice, defensive end Vernon Gholston.
According to the New York Daily News, the Jets finalized a five-year contract
worth nearly $40 million w
<< Jankovic moves on at East West Classic
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia was among
the winners in Thursday's third-round action at the $600,000 East West Bank
Classic women's tennis event.
Jankovic defeated Melinda Czink of Hungary, 6-3, 6-2.
<< Nadal, Djokovic advance; Roddick upset at Rogers Cup
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Rafael Nadal and third-seeded
Novak Djokovic advanced Thursday at the $2,615,000 Rogers Masters in Toronto,
but sixth-seeded Andy Roddick wasn't as fortunate to get out of the third
round.
<< Dinwiddie does it! Bombers edge Stampeders with wild finish
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Dinwiddie connected with Romby Bryant on
a 35-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers to an exciting 32-28 win over the Calgary Stampeders.
Dinwidd
Ichiro, Mariners open series at Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki closes in on a significant milestone this
evening when the Seattle Mariners open a three-game series with the Toronto
Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Suzuki enters tonight's opener just five hits s
Dempster hopes to keep Wrigley dominance intact against Fish >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field has been quite
the challenge for enemy teams this season. The task has been even tougher when
Ryan Dempster is on the mound.
Dempster and the Cubs will both be attempting to build
Rangers, A's get series started in Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle for second place in the American League West
begins tonight at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum, where the Athletics take on the
hard-hitting Texas Rangers in the first of three consecutive clashes.
The A's and Rangers
NL East-leading Mets welcome Cardinals to Shea >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets open their first series as sole leaders
of the National League's East Division tonight, when they host the St. Louis
Cardinals in the first of three weekend games at Shea Stadium.
New York, which foug
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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