09/14/2008 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chone Figgins drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Los Angeles completed a four-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a 4-3 win at Angel Stadium.
With the scored tied in the ninth, Sean Rodriguez hit a one-out triple and Figgins followed with a long single off the wall in right field to win the game.
"I really wasn't trying to hit the ball out of the park, I was just trying to hit a fly ball," said Figgins.
Kendry Morales went 2-for-4 with two RBI while Mark Teixeira hit a solo home run and scored twice for the Angels, who have won seven of eight overall.
Ervin Santana went seven innings and gave up just two runs on six hits with three strikeouts while Jose Arredondo (9-2) got the win for pitching a scoreless ninth for theAngels, who have already clinched the AL West and has the best record in MLB at 92-57.
"I was just trying to do my thing," said Santana. "I had good command and was getting first-pitch strikes."
Jose Lopez went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while Roy Corcoran (5-1) got the loss for the Mariners, who have lost five of six overall. Felix Hernandez started on the mound and gave up three runs on eight hits with four walks in seven innings of work.
"It's tough on the guys when you're not winning," said Seattle manager Jim Riggleman. "It's a test of character and I couldn't be more proud of them."
The Angels jumped on top in the first inning. Figgins led off with a single and, after Garret Anderson flied out, Teixeira worked a walk. A wild pitch advanced both runners and Morales chased them both home with a single to center for a 2-0 lead.
Seattle answered with a run in the second. Lopez hit a one-out single and then stole second. A single from Yuniesky Betancourt put runners on the corners and Bryan LaHair then grounded out to plate Lopez.
The Mariners then tied the game in the sixth inning. Jeremy Reed led off with a walk, but Raul Ibanez popped out and Adrian Beltre flied out. Reed stole second and Lopez ripped an RBI single to left.
Teixeira, though, led off the sixth with a homer over the center-field wall to give the Angels a 3-2 advantage.
Scot Shields relieved Santana to start the eighth and promptly gave up the lead. Ibanez led off with a single, but the next two batters were retired. Betancourt then worked a walk and Miguel Cairo donated a pinch-hit single to right to bring home Ibanez.
Game Notes
The Angels travel to Oakland to start a three-game set on Tuesday...Seattle starts a four-game series in Kansas City on Monday...The Angels have taken 11 of 15 against Seattle this season...The home run was Teixeira's 30th of the season overall and 10th since coming to Anaheim. In addition, it was the 200th round-tripper of his career and his fifth straight season with at least 30 home runs...Angels third baseman Freddy Sandoval had the first hit of his career in the game, an infield single in the fourth...Santana's final strikeout was his 200th this season. He is the first Angel pitcher to reach the 200-strikeout plateau since Chuck Finley in 1999.
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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.
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:
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 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.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
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.
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