D-Backs host Astros, shoot for fifth straight win

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recent trade acquisition Joe Saunders tries to make it two wins in a row for the first time since arriving in Arizona tonight, when the Diamondbacks meet the Houston Astros in the middle matchup of a three-game weekend series at Chase Field.

The red-hot hosts won Friday's opener, 4-3, on Augie Ojeda's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning. Adam LaRoche went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and Gerardo Parra added two hits and a run scored for the Diamondbacks, who have won four in a row and seven of eight while outscoring their opponents by a 58-28 margin.

Aaron Heilman (5-5) earned the win with a scoreless top of the eighth and Juan Gutierrez worked a scoreless ninth to preserve the victory and earn his seventh save.

Wilton Lopez (5-1) suffered the loss after yielding the deciding run on one hit over one inning of work for the Astros, who had a three-game win streak snuffed out.

Saunders, a 29-year-old Virginia native, has won just two of seven starts since the late-July transaction that brought him to the National League from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for right-hander Dan Haren.

The left-hander allowed just three runs in 16 innings over his initial two NL outings, but then lost four in a row while surrendering 23 runs in his next 22 innings pitched. He bounced back for a win in his most recent effort, allowing two runs on 10 hits across eight innings in Arizona's 7-2 home triumph over San Diego on Monday.

Saunders has never faced the Astros.

Right-hander Bud Norris tries to restart a win streak for Houston when he opposes Saunders tonight. The 25-year-old, who won six games in 11 appearances as a rookie last season, was 2-7 this season before a seven-start unbeaten streak that saw him record four straight wins.

That run ended in his last performance, however, when Norris was touched for five runs on eight hits in a 5-1 loss to the New York Mets last Sunday in Queens.

Prior to that game, the Astros had won six straight Norris starts as he dropped his earned run average more than a run from 6.09 to 5.03.

The former sixth-round draft pick (2006) has lost his two career starts against the Diamondbacks, while giving up 12 runs in 11 hits in just six innings.

Arizona has now won four of five meetings with the Astros this season following Friday's result.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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