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07/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles hope a flurry of changes can help lead to more results like the team produced on Thursday.
The revamped club will set its sights on a second straight victory over the Kansas City Royals, who'll be out to put an end to a five-game losing streak in tonight's clash between the teams from Kauffman Stadium.
Baltimore announced prior to Thursday's game it had hired Buck Showalter to serve as the team's new manager, although the former Yankees, Diamondbacks and Rangers skipper won't officially take over until the Orioles return from their current road trip on Tuesday. Baltimore fired field general Dave Trembley on June 4, with interim manager Juan Samuel having gone 17-31 since assuming those duties.
Showalter won't have Miguel Tejada to put in his lineup, however, as the Orioles traded the former American League MVP to San Diego on Thursday in exchange for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer.
Baltimore did just fine without Tejada in last night's opener of this four- game series, rallying for a 6-5 extra-inning victory to stop a five-game slide. Ty Wigginton, another Orioles player rumored to be on the trading block, drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning.
The Orioles trailed 5-3 after five innings, but scored single runs in both the sixth and eighth frames to draw even. Corey Patterson knotted the score with a solo homer off Royals reliever Robinson Tejeda with two out in the top of the eighth.
"Going over the scouting report on him, we knew he had a good fastball," Patterson said of Tejeda. "So I told myself to just say 'heater.' In the back of my mind, I thought he was going to throw me something off-speed and I kept fouling them. He didn't and obviously during that at-bat, when you see the same pitch, you're going to get a pretty good track on it."
In the 11th, Cesar Izturis worked a leadoff walk against Kansas City's Blake Wood (0-2) and moved to third on a Brian Roberts single before crossing the plate on Wigginton's fly ball to left.
"It just boils down to a leadoff walk," said Wood afterward. "You just can't do that [with the] game tied like that. I was just trying to be a little too fine."
Both Wigginton and Patterson finished with two RBI and Nick Markakis added a solo homer for Baltimore, which received a combined 7 2/3 scoreless innings from its relief corps after starter Brian Matusz was rocked for five runs over the first 3 1/3 frames. David Hernandez (5-7) picked up the win by shutting out the Royals in the ninth and 10th.
Kansas City, which has now lost 14 of its last 17 contests, received two hits and an RBI out of Yuniesky Betancourt in its most recent setback.
The Royals will be trying to get back in the win column tonight, as well as enabling the recently-acquired Sean O'Sullivan to notch his first victory with his new team. Tonight the young right-hander will be making his second start since being obtained by Kansas City from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last week as part of a trade that sent infielder Alberto Callaspo to the Halos.
O'Sullivan's Royals debut did not go well, as the 22-year-old was tagged for five runs and a pair of homers over five innings in a road loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday. Ironically, he defeated the defending world champions in Yankee Stadium in his final start as a Angel, tossing six innings of two- run ball and logging four strikeouts back on July 20.
The San Diego native made two starts against Baltimore as a rookie last season and received a no-decision both times, although he allowed 10 runs and 16 hits over a combined 9 2/3 innings of work.
Rookie Jake Arrieta gets the call for the Orioles tonight and will be out to improve upon a pair of shaky starts to begin the second half. The highly- regarded righty surrendered five runs in a 5 1/3-inning no-decision against Tampa Bay on July 20, then followed up by permitting five runs and walking four batters while lasting only four frames in Sunday's 10-4 loss to Minnesota.
Both of those outings took place at home, so perhaps leaving the hitter- friendly confines of Camden Yards will work to Arrieta's benefit. He's done well in limited action on the road, having compiled a 2-1 record and a 3.18 earned run average in four away assignments.
In nine overall starts since being promoted from the minors in June, Arrieta has gone 3-3 with a 5.40 ERA.
These teams split a pair of meetings in Baltimore back in May, as well as a four-game series held at Kauffman Stadium last season.
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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.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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