Vazquez strong on mound as Yanks win in Bronx

Baseball Betting Lines

06/01/2010 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An inconsistent Javier Vazquez bounced back from a poor start to toss seven innings of one-run ball and a Miguel Tejada two-run error in the seventh handed the Yankees a 3-1 win over Baltimore in the opener of a three-game series.

Curtis Granderson hit his first home run since April 7 -- a stretch of 81 at- bats -- and Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a 2- for-4 effort -- his seventh consecutive multi-hit game.

Vazquez (4-5) scattered four hits with seven strikeouts and one walk, Joba Chamberlain worked a 1-2-3 eighth and Mariano Rivera shut the door in the ninth for his 11th save in New York's third straight win.

Baltimore's Brian Matusz (2-6) continued to endure a trying season, losing his sixth consecutive decision despite allowing a single earned run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Tejada's error with two outs pushed his line to three runs allowed.

Corey Patterson homered to account for the offense as the Orioles' losing streak reached six games.

Baltimore crossed the plate a mere three times in three consecutive defeats at Toronto over the weekend and has scored just 10 runs over the course of its current slide.

The duel between Vazquez and Matusz spilled into the seventh with the game knotted at one. Derek Jeter, who collected two hits on the evening, singled to right off the O's starter and Nick Swisher drew a walk. Both moved up on a Juan Miranda groundout and David Hernandez came on with two away.

Alex Rodriguez hit a bouncer to third and Tejada one-hopped the throw to first, handcuffing Ty Wigginton and allowing two runs to cross the plate.

The Yankee bullpen took care of business from there, with Luke Scott's ninth- inning single serving as the lone Baltimore baserunner.

The game remained scoreless until Granderson led off the fifth with only his third homer on the year. Patterson, though, answered in kind an inning later with two outs to tie things up.

New York had a chance for more in its sixth-inning at-bat, but Granderson struck out with runners at first and third to end the frame. Baltimore went on to load the bases with one out in the seventh before Vazquez fanned Adam Jones and retired Julio Lugo on a force play at second.

Game Notes

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left the game after fouling a pitch off his left foot. The injury has been labeled a bruised left foot. Miranda took over fielding duties at first to start the top of the fourth...Matusz struck out five and walked three. The O's have lost in each of his last eight outings...Baltimore was swept in a three-game set at Yankee Stadium from May 3-5. The Yankees have now won six straight in the series and are 19-4 in the last 23 overall encounters...The Orioles have also dropped six straight on the road and 10 of their last 11...Scott had two hits for the O's.

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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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