Ramirez quiet in return but Dodgers still double-up Padres
Baseball Betting Lines
07/04/2009 -
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez returned from a 50-game
suspension and played only 5 1/2 innings, going 0-for-3 with a walk, two
groundouts and a pop out, but the rest of his Dodger teammates picked up the
slack and used a five-run first inning to defeat the Padres, 6-3, in front of
a partisan crowd at Petco Park.
Ramirez came to bat as the third hitter in the first inning, and the 42,217
partisan fans erupted into a mixture of jeers and applause and stood for the
entire plate appearance, which ended in a seven-pitch walk. The 12-time All-
Star was suspended on May 7 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing
substance and was subsequently banished from Major League Baseball until
Friday.
"It was great, it was the best," Ramirez said after the game. "The fans in LA
drove (to San Diego) to watch me, it was unbelievable."
Ramirez was lifted in the middle of the sixth for the speedy Juan Pierre, who
made sure the Dodgers didn't miss a beat in the absence of their star
outfielder. Pierre started all 50 games during the suspension, batting .318
with 14 doubles, 21 runs batted in, 31 runs scored, 15 walks and 20 steals.
"I don't think theres any question he's rusty," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said
of Ramirez. "He really hasn't had a lot of practice, but I thought that first
at-bat was pretty amazing. It shows how good of a hitter he is and how he
knows the strike zone.
"I thought it would help the defense with (Pierre) out there (in the field)
because he's been playing, and that's how I made the decision (to take Ramirez
out)," Torre added.
During the suspension, LA went a respectable 29-21, maintaining their healthy
lead atop the NL West standings. Although the record without him was solid in
a weak National League, the team moved to 21-7 this season with him in the
starting lineup.
"Everyone in the clubhouse is a professional hitter, and they can do a lot of
great things without me," Ramirez said. "I'm there just to follow and bring my
presence and make everyone feel comfortable."
Prior to the game, Ramirez offered a public apology for his actions, although
he didn't delve into the details of his drug usage. He was suspended for
reportedly taking the banned substance human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a
female fertility drug that can also be used as an antidote to reduce
testosterone levels at the end of a cycle of steroid treatments.
Following the 0-for-3 outing, Ramirez's average dropped to .337 to go along
with six homers and 20 RBI so far in 2009.
As far as his other teammates were concerned, Russell Martin and Matt Kemp
each drove in a pair of runs, as LA won for the third time in its last four
games. Rafael Furcal went 4-for-5 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot,
and Hiroki Kuroda (3-4) earned his second win this season against San Diego
after yielding three runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 5
1/3 innings.
Jonathan Broxton earned his 20th save of the season in the win.
Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run double, while Scott Hairston blasted a solo
homer for San Diego, which has lost seven of 10. Chad Gaudin (4-7), who hurled
eight one-hit, scoreless innings in Texas his last time out, was touched for
six runs on seven hits, with four walks and four strikeouts, in five frames.
The Dodgers took a huge lead in the first thanks to a couple bad throws by the
Padres. Furcal singled to start and moved to second on a groundout by Orlando
Hudson. Ramirez, in his first plate appearance, drew a seven-pitch walk, and
Ethier followed with a grounder to first.
Gonzalez was able to make the throw for the force out at second, but the throw
back to first for the double play sailed wide and off the Padres' dugout.
Gaudin quickly grabbed it and fired home, except that the throw was wide of
the plate, allowing Furcal to score for an early lead.
Casey Blake followed with a walk, and James Loney hit an RBI single to make it
2-0. A bloop RBI single to shallow right-center by Martin gave the Dodgers a
three-run edge.
LA didn't stop the offense there, as Kemp drilled a two-run double to the gap
in right-center to cap the opening frame.
Martin added an RBI groundout in the third to give the Dodgers a 6-0 lead.
Hairston put the Padres on the board in the fourth on a one-out solo homer.
San Diego cut into its deficit with two runs in the sixth, knocking Kuroda out
of the game. Tony Gwynn Jr. worked a leadoff walk and moved to second on David
Eckstein's single. Two batters later, Gonzalez ripped a double past Kemp in
center field to score both runners and make it a 6-3 game.
Guillermo Mota came in to replace Kuroda and got out of the inning without any
further damage. Mota stayed in to also pitch a scoreless seventh.
Ramon Troncoso retired two of the three hitters he faced in the eighth, and
Brent Leach came in to face Gonzalez, who hit a long fly ball to deep left
that Juan Pierre was able to track down to maintain the 6-3 lead.
Broxton came in and set down the Padres in order to polish off the win.
Game Notes
Gwynn has hit safely in 21 of his last 25 games and is batting .301 on the
season...LA began a nine-game road trip Friday against San Diego, New York and
Milwaukee...Kuroda moved to 4-1 in six career starts against the Padres...LA
leads the season series, 8-3.
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What Is the Point Spread?
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.
How to Read Point Spreads
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:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
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 online football betting 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.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
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.
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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