08/20/2008 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora smacked a three-run homer and drove in four as Baltimore rallied from an early four-run deficit to out-slug Boston, 11-6, in the finale of a three-game set from Camden Yards.
Ramon Hernandez also had a three-run blast for the Orioles, who salvaged a game in the series. Brian Roberts collected two hits and two RBI, while Lou Montanez and Juan Castro knocked in a run each.
Baltimore starter Chris Waters (2-0) earned the win despite allowing eight hits and five runs -- four earned -- in five innings.
"The reason Waters was able to put a couple zeros up on the board was that he got some command of his fastball," said Orioles manager Dave Trembley. "In the first inning, he didn't have very good command of anything, and I thought he was basically pitching backwards. Then he established his fastball and got ahead, obviously his ball-strike ratio is not where it needs to be, but he got through it."
Jason Bay homered for the Red Sox, who have dropped three of five. Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis each picked up a pair of hits and a run driven in.
Clay Buchholz (2-9) suffered the loss, his seventh setback in as many decisions, charged with three hits and five runs in just 2 1/3 frames.
After seeing the Sox score twice in the first then add two more in the second, the O's came back with three in the home second on an RBI single from Montanez and a two-out, two-run base hit by Roberts.
In the third, Mora was drilled on the hand, Luke Scott walked with one out and after Mora stole third, Buchholz was pulled from the game. David Aardsma came in but allowed a three-run homer to Hernandez which put Baltimore up 6-4. Montanez walked and two batters later scored on Castro's hit to left.
In the Orioles' next turn, Mora's three-run homer boosted the home team's lead to 10-4, but Bay's solo shot to center brought the Sox within 10-5 in the fifth.
Mora's sacrifice fly in the bottom half restored the six-run edge before Boston picked up a run in the eighth on an RBI double by Ellsbury.
Orioles reliever Jim Johnson finished off the Sox with a scoreless ninth.
"I think against Boston, you have to hit with men on base, you have to score when you get opportunities to score, because you never know if you're going to get enough runs," Trembley added. "We got some big hits with guys on base."
Things started off on a better note for the visitors.
In the first, Dustin Pedroia hit a one-out triple off the very top of the wall in left-center. David Ortiz walked and a Youkilis single brought in the first run, then Bay's single loaded the bases. Jed Lowrie drew a walk to force in another run before Jeff Bailey struck out and Coco Crisp grounded into a force.
In the second, Kevin Cash doubled and scored on Waters' throwing error on a bunt single from Ellsbury which allowed the speedy outfielder to reach second. Ellsbury swiped third and scored when Ortiz blasted a single off the right- field scoreboard.
Game Notes
Baltimore topped the 10-run mark for the 13th time this season, improving to 12-1 in such games...It was also the first time in 2008 the O's hit two three- run home runs in one contest...Buchholz has not won a start since May 2, going 0-7 with three no-decisions in that span...Following the game, Baltimore optioned pitcher Garrett Olson to Triple-A Norfolk...The Red Sox continue their road trip Friday in Toronto, starting a three-game set with the Blue Jays...The Orioles resume play Friday, hosting the Yankees for three in the middle portion of their current nine-game homestand.
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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds
With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season. What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season. Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all. Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13). Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two. Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury. Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven. Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury. Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons. Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4. Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1). The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this. No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.
Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend. Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend. With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.
MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:
Atlanta Hawks 1000-1
Boston Celtics 5000-1
Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1
Chicago Bulls 20-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1
Dallas Mavericks 2-1
Denver Nuggets 25-1
Detroit Pistons 6-1
Golden State Warriors 250-1
Houston Rockets 12-1
Indiana Pacers 60-1
Los Angeles Clippers 45-1
Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1
Miami Heat 9-1
Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1
Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1
New Jersey Nets 50-1
New Orleans Hornets 150-1
New York Knicks 150-1
Orlando Magic 75-1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1
Phoenix Suns 5-2
Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1
Sacramento Kings 250-1
San Antonio Spurs 9-1
Seattle Sonics 5000-1
Toronto Raptors 35-1
Utah Jazz 20-1
Washington Wizards 25-1
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Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.
“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.
“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).
Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.
Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.
The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.
Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game
Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.
Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.
Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”
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