Big Unit outpitches Dice-K

Baseball Betting Lines

06/11/2007 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Byrnes went 3-for-5 with a double as Arizona avoided a three-game sweep with a 5-1 victory over Boston at Chase Field.

Veteran left-hander Randy Johnson started on the mound for Arizona and gave up just one run on four hits while striking out nine and walking three in six frames. Johnson (4-2) now has four victories in his last five starts.

"To get alot of strikeouts early in the game, your pitch total adds up really quick," Johnson said. "As the game got a little deeper, the fourth, fifth inning, I got a few more ground balls. The first couple of innings you set the tone, and kind of get in the groove of things."

Chris Young, Stephen Drew and Carlos Quentin each knocked in a run for the Diamondbacks, who ended a three-game slide.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-5) started for Boston and went six innings, allowing two runs on four hits. The rookie right-hander also fanned nine and walked four in the loss.

"He (Matsuzaka) pitched his heart out, they made him work," said Boston manager Terry Francona. "I thought we made Randy (Johnson) work."

Mike Lowell knocked in the lone run for the Red Sox, who were looking to win their four straight contest.

After three scoreless innings, the Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the fourth after Lowell doubled home Manny Ramirez, who walked to lead off the frame.

It was all Arizona the rest of the way as the D-Backs answered in the home half of the fourth and tied things at 1-1 after Drew's run-scoring single to center plated Orlando Hudson.

The score remained tied until the sixth, when Arizona went up 2-1 after Quentin doubled home Conor Jackson, who drew a walk to start the inning.

In the eighth, the Diamondbacks tacked on three more runs to take a four-run lead. Jackson singled to start things and Drew walked off Javier Lopez. Mike Timlin then entered the contest and Quentin laid down a bunt. On the play, Timlin's throw to first sailed over Kevin Youkilis' head allowing two runs to cross the plate. With two outs, Arizona made it 5-1 after Young's RBI single.

Game Notes

Drew has 26 RBI on the season while Quentin and Young each have 23...Arizona finished with seven hits while Boston ended with six...Matsuzaka has lost his last three starts...The Red Sox committed three errors...Both clubs left 10 runners on base.

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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.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

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.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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