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09/07/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After rallying for a big win two days ago, the Atlanta Braves will hope for an easier time tonight when they begin a three-game series with the Washington Nationals at Turner Field.
The Braves trailed 8-2 on Wednesday against the Phillies before plating four runs in the eighth. Matt Diaz then sent the club home winners as he hit a bases-clearing double in the ninth with two outs to lift Atlanta to a 9-8 victory.
Willie Harris homered for the Braves, who improved to just 2-4 on their current nine-game homestand. The club is 7 1/2 games behind the Mets for the top spot in the NL East and 5 1/2 games off the pace in the wild card race.
Atlanta starting pitcher Tim Hudson surrendered five runs on a season-high 11 hits with two walks and four strikeouts over five frames. Rafael Soriano (3-3) earned the win with a scoreless ninth.
Brian McCann, though, left the game in the eighth with a bruised left ankle and is questionable for tonight's game.
The Braves are set to send John Smoltz to the hill tonight. Smoltz is 12-7 this year with a 3.09 earned run average and is coming off a loss last time out on Sunday versus the Mets. He allowed three runs on nine hits over seven innings in that one.
Smoltz has faced the Washington franchise 65 times in his career, 38 of them starts, and is 19-11 with 17 saves and four complete games. The right-hander also has a stellar 2.63 ERA against the Expos/Nationals after besting the club on June 27 behind five shutout frames.
Washington comes into Friday's game red hot, as the club has won five straight games. The Nationals just completed a three-game sweep of the Florida Marlins with a 6-4 victory on Wednesday.
Austin Kearns homered and scored three times in the win, while Brian Schneider drove in a pair of runs.
Tim Redding started but left in the third inning after getting hit on his right elbow by a sharp grounder. Jonathan Albaladejo made his major-league debut in relief of Redding and tossed 1 2/3 hitless frames, while Luis Ayala (1-2) picked up the win after working a flawless seventh. Chad Cordero took care of the ninth for his 31st save of the campaign.
Joel Hanrahan will try to turn in his second solid outing when he toes the rubber for the Nationals tonight. Hanrahan picked up a win Saturday over the Giants behind six innings of one-hit, one-run ball. He also walked just one batter to improve to 4-2 with a 5.14 ERA.
The right-hander will be making just his eighth career start tonight and first against the Braves.
Atlanta holds a 7-5 edge over Washington this season and has won five of six at Turner Field.
<< Twins try to halt skid against White Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins try to put the brakes on a four-game
losing streak this evening when they open a three-game series with the Chicago
White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Twins enter this series on the heels of getting
<< Kennedy tries to follow up solid debut as Yanks battle Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kennedy tries to follow up a brilliant major league
debut this evening when the New York Yankees kick off a three-game series with
the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Kennedy, a first round pick of the Yankees
<< Playoff hopeful Tigers and Mariners begin big set in Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams with playoff aspirations square off this weekend
when the Detroit Tigers welcome the Seattle Mariners to Comerica Park for the
opener of a three-game series.
Both teams enter the critical series three games back
<< Red Sox send Lester to the hill against Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester tries to win his third straight start this
evening when the Boston Red Sox continue their four-game series with the
Baltimore Orioles.
Lester got the best of Baltimore in his last start on Sunday, as he allowed
Reds welcome Brewers to town for three >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers are coming off their best offensive
performance of the season. They will try to keep swinging their big bats
tonight in the first of three straight games against the Cincinnati Reds at
Great A
NL West-leading D'backs host upstart Cardinals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have reclaimed the top spot in the
National League West. Now they will try to stay there, as the club begins a
three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals tonight at Chase Field.
The Diamond
LA, San Fran go at it again by the Bay >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers are sticking around in the playoff
picture. The club will try to stay on the winning track and in the hunt
tonight when they open a three-game set with the San Francisco Giants at AT&T
Park.
France and Italy square off in World Cup rematch >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in Group B get together at
the San Siro on Saturday as France visits Italy in a rematch of the 2006 World
Cup final.
Zinedine Zidane, the most famous figure from last summer's encounter, wi
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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