Callaspo's hit lifts Royals over Blue Jays in 10
Baseball Betting Lines
07/19/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kendall lofted a game-tying sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning and Alberto Callaspo singled home the winning run, as the Kansas City Royals rallied to beat Toronto, 5-4, in the opener of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.
The Blue Jays had taken the lead in the top of the 10th against Kyle Farnsworth (3-0) on an RBI single by Jose Bautista. Bautista's base hit placed runners on the corners with nobody out. Vernon Wells hit a one-hopper to third and Yunel Escobar, who reached after being hit on the hand while attempting a bunt, was thrown out at home. Farnsworth fanned Adam Lind and retired Aaron Hill on fly out to keep the damage to one run.
Scott Podsednik spurred the winning rally with a leadoff triple and scored on Kendall's fly ball to center field. Toronto closer Kevin Gregg (0-4) gave up a two-out hit to Billy Butler and then walked Jose Guillen on four pitches. Callaspo followed with a single through the middle to score pinch-runner Chris Getz and halt Kansas City's six-game losing streak.
Yuniesky Betancourt put the Royals on the board with a two-out RBI single in the second. With two outs in the third, Escobar blasted a two-run homer to put the Blue Jays up 2-1.
Three straight singles by Hill, Lyle Overbay and John Buck to start the seventh increased Toronto's lead to 3-1.
Kansas City tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Mike Aviles walked, advanced to third on a Willie Bloomquist double and came home when Betancourt grounded out.
Scott Downs then replaced Toronto starter Brett Cecil and got Podsednik to ground out. Bloomquist took third on the play and scored on Kendall's infield single.
Kansas City closer Joakim Soria escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the top of the ninth.
Game Notes
Cecil gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings...Royals starter Kyle Davies allowed three runs on a season-high 10 hits over seven innings. He remains winless in his last eight outings...Toronto has homered in 12 straight games for the first time since July 25-August 6, 2004...Lind went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games...The Blue Jays were coming off a three-game sweep of the Orioles in Baltimore.
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Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nelson Cruz continued his hot hitting, belting a two-run homer in the 14th inning, lifting the Texas Rangers to an 8-6 win over Detroit in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica Park. Cruz, who had
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Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rios clubbed a two-run homer and added a
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Sportsbooks to bet on football
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
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MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
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