Fister, Mariners dominate O's
Baseball Betting Lines
04/20/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Casey Kotchman's two-run homer punctuated a seven-run third inning, as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 8-2, in the opener of a three-game series at Safeco Field.
Doug Fister (2-1) tossed a gem for the Mariners, flirting with a no-hitter before Baltimore's Nick Markakis singled to begin the top of the seventh. Fister had allowed just two baserunners -- a hit batsman and a walk to Nolan Reimold -- until that point, with both coming in the first inning.
Markakis, though, was quickly erased on a double-play grounder, but Matt Wieters singled and scored on Luke Scott's double. Fister retired Lou Montanez to finish his outing.
Brandon League pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for Seattle, while Shawn Kelley surrendered a solo home run to Baltimore third baseman Ty Wigginton in the ninth.
Kotchman added an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh off Kam Mickolio.
Jack Wilson went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored for Seattle, which has won five of its last six games.
Baltimore starter Brad Bergesen (0-2) was tagged for seven runs -- four earned -- on six hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. Jason Berken succeeded Bergesen and hurled 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Orioles have won just twice through their first 14 games of the season.
The Mariners sent 10 men to the plate in the third. Wilson stroked a one-out double and Bergesen issued consecutive walks to Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins to load the bases. Franklin Gutierrez put Seattle on the board with a single to left field and a second run scored when Wigginton mishandled a grounder off the bat of Jose Lopez.
Ken Griffey Jr. lined a two-run single to right and Milton Bradley followed with a run-scoring double. Griffey was thrown out at home on the throw. Bergesen's night came to a close after Kotchman blasted a pitch to the seats in right. Berken fanned Rob Johnson to end the inning.
Game Notes
Ichiro and Gutierrez each had two hits...The Mariners were 6-for-17 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base...Bergesen has allowed 20 runs -- 14 earned -- in 10 1/3 innings this season and boasts a 12.19 ERA...Seattle won five of its nine meetings with the Orioles last year.
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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.
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