Saunders, Angels salvage game with Twins

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Saunders hurled seven solid innings, and Garret Anderson homered as the LA Angels of Anaheim downed Minnesota, 7-2, in the finale of a three-game set at the Metrodome.

Saunders (4-0), who was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake before the game to take the spot in the rotation previously held by Ervin Santana, allowed just two runs on six hits while walking one and fanning five.

Anderson was 2-for-4 for the Angels and his long ball snapped a 14-game homerless drought for the team. Meanwhile, Robb Quinlan and Casey Kotchman each drove in a pair of runs for LA, which avoided a sweep in the series and now stands two games ahead of Seattle in the AL West.

Jeff Cirillo and Justin Morneau each had an RBI for the Twins, who have lost four of six.

Matt Garza (1-2) allowed four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of work en route to the loss.

The Angels jumped on top quickly with a run in the first. With runners at first and second and two down Garza lost the strike zone. The starter issued consecutive walks to Kotchman and Maicer Izturis to force in a run.

Los Angeles added another run in the second thanks to some shoddy fielding. Nathan Haynes reached second when Jason Bartlett threw away his ground ball and Chone Figgins followed by slapping an RBI single up the middle.

Anderson made it 3-0 in the third when he blasted a one-out solo homer to right, his fourth of the year.

The Twins got on the board in the home half of the third. Consecutive singles by Luis Rodriguez, Nick Punto and Bartlett loaded the bases before Cirillo lofted a sacrifice fly to left that made it a 3-1 game. Saunders averted any further damage by inducing Joe Mauer to hit into a 4-6-3 twin-killing.

The Angels got that run back in the sixth. Consecutive one-out singles by Kotchman and Izturis and a walk to Mike Napoli loaded the bases and chased Garza from the game. Juan Rincon entered and promptly issued a walk to Quinlan that made it a 4-1 game. The reliever did get Haynes to line into a double play after that to end the threat.

Minnesota made it a 4-2 game in the sixth. Cirillo laced a one-out double to left and came around to score on Morneau's two-out RBI single up the middle.

Los Angeles answered again in the seventh. Figgins singled and moved to third on an Orlando Cabrera base hit. Rincon managed to fan Vladimir Guerrero but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire went to Dennys Reyes from there. After Cabrera swiped second and Reyes intentionally walked Anderson to load the bases, Kotchman hit a sac fly to center to make it 5-2.

Consecutive doubles by Napoli and Quinlan in the eighth extended LA's advantage to four, 6-2.

Kotchman's run-scoring double in the ninth accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

Saunders filled the hole on the roster created when catcher Jose Molina was traded to the New York Yankees for a minor league pitcher Jeff Kennard on Saturday...Saunders last threw at the major league level against Pittsburgh back on June 22, a game in which he allowed four runs on seven hits and fanned three in six innings of work.

Myspoetsbook Baseball Betting News

<< Houston's Pence sprains wrist
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence suffered a sprained right wrist during Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pence was hurt in the fourth inning while swinging at a pitch. As he poppe

<< Yankees score 21 runs to pound Devil Rays
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shelley Duncan capped a 10-run fourth inning with a three-run homer and added a solo shot in the sixth, as the New York Yankees again roughed up Tampa Bay pitching in a 21-4 victory over the Devil Rays at Yankee

<< Bannister, Royals down Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Bannister allowed just four hits and one run in seven innings, leading Kansas City past Detroit, 5-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Comerica Park. Bannister (6-6) fanned three and wal

<< Nats blank Rockies again
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Kearns broke open a scoreless game with a three-run homer in the eighth and four Washington pitchers combined on a second consecutive shutout of the Colorado Rockies in the Nationals' 3-0 win in the

<< Marlins topple Reds again
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla finished 4-for-5 with a two-run homer and a run-scoring double as Florida bested Cincinnati, 9-3, in the finale of a four-game set at Dolphin Stadium. Mike Jacobs also hit a two-run homer for the Mar

Petit pitches Arizona past Cubs >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yusmeiro Petit pitched six scoreless innings and Chris Snyder homered as the Arizona Diamondbacks blanked the Chicago Cubs, 3-0, in the finale of a three-game set at Wrigley Field. Petit (2-2) yielded just t

Twins to reinstate White from DL >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins plan to activate outfielder Rondell White from the 15-day disabled list prior to the team's game against Toronto on Monday. White has been sidelined since April 10 with a str

Ramirez, Lowell go deep as BoSox beat ChiSox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez hit a three-run home run and drove in four, while Mike Lowell also hit a three-run bomb as Boston topped Chicago, 8-5, in the finale of a four-game set from Fenway Park. Kevin Youkilis drove in the

Lee downs Miyazato for Match Play crown >>
New Rochelle, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seon Hwa Lee rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to claim a 2 & 1 win over Ai Miyazato in the final of the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship on Sunday. Lee, the 22nd se

Retamoza claims Futures event in Syracuse >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Violeta Retamoza fired a bogey-free, four- under 67 Sunday to come from behind and win the Alliance Bank Golf Classic. Retamoza completed her first Duramed Futures Tour victory at five-under-par 208, o

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.