Astros play second of three in DC

Baseball Betting Lines

07/12/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After an extended night for the team's bullpen, the Houston Astros will be counting on some quality innings out of Wandy Rodriguez in tonight's middle test of a three-game set with the host Washington Nationals.

Roy Oswalt left Friday's series opener after just one inning due to a left hip abductor strain, an injury that also caused the Astros ace to miss his last scheduled turn in the rotation. Houston's relief corps failed to step up in Oswalt's absence, as Washington battered the bullpen en route to a 10-0 victory.

Most of the damage came against Dave Borkowski, with the right-hander surrendering seven runs on five hits -- including a pair of homers -- in just two innings of work. Chad Paronto, who replaced Oswalt in the bottom of the second, received the loss after allowing three runs on six hits over 2 1/3 frames.

Ronnie Belliard led the Nationals' offensive eruption with a pair of home runs, a two-run shot off Paronto in the second and a three-run blast against Borkowski in the fifth. Austin Kearns also homered in the rout and finished 2- for-2 with three RBI, while Jesus Flores added a two-run single for Washington, which won for only the second time in its last nine games.

Tim Redding (7-3) cruised through the first six innings for the Nationals, with the ex-Astro scattering seven hits and striking out six without a walk. Steven Shell completed the shutout by throwing the final three frames to earn his first career save.

Houston has now dropped eight of its last 10 contests and is 2-5 thus far on a nine-game road trip.

The Astros would be bolstered by a long outing out of Rodriguez this evening, although the Dominican southpaw hasn't pitched more than 5 2/3 innings in three of his last four starts. He hasn't lost during that stretch, however, posting one win and three no-decisions despite Houston losing all three of those contests he did not factor in.

Rodriguez was in line for his fourth victory of the season during Sunday's start at Atlanta, where he allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings while leaving with a 6-3 lead. However, the Houston bullpen gave up three late runs and Rodriguez was stuck with a no-decision.

The 29-year-old owns a 2-1 record with a 5.34 ERA in five lifetime starts against Washington, with tonight's tilt marking his first career appearance at the brand-new Nationals Ballpark.

The Astros will get their first look tonight at Washington rookie Collin Balester, who's delivered mixed results through two starts as a major leaguer.

Considered one of the top pitching prospects in the Nationals' system, Balester did not disappoint in his big league debut on July 1. The lanky 22- year-old held Florida to one run and a single hit over five innings to pick up the victory in Washington's 9-6 triumph at Dolphin Stadium.

Balester took a step back in Sunday's matchup at Cincinnati, where the young right-hander was roughed up for five runs in 5 2/3 innings to suffer the loss in the Nationals' 6-5 setback.

This will also be the first start at Nationals Ballpark for Balester, who has yielded just five hits through his first 10 2/3 innings pitched in the majors.

Houston won two of three matchups with the Nats at Minute Maid Park back in May, but Washington is 10-4 in its last 14 clashes against the Astros. Houston has also lost six of its last seven in D.C.

BC-AAN;PREVIEW-HOU-WAS

=== Astros play second of three in DC ===

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After an extended night for the team's bullpen, the Houston

Roy Oswalt left Friday's series opener after just one inning due to a left hip abductor strain, an injury that also caused the Astros ace to miss his last scheduled turn in the rotation. Houston's relief corps failed to step up in Oswalt's absence, as Washington battered the bullpen en route to a 10-0 victory.

Most of the damage came against Dave Borkowski, with the right-hander surrendering seven runs on five hits -- including a pair of homers -- in just two innings of work. Chad Paronto, who replaced Oswalt in the bottom of the second, received the loss after allowing three runs on six hits over 2 1/3 frames.

Ronnie Belliard led the Nationals' offensive eruption with a pair of home runs, a two-run shot off Paronto in the second and a three-run blast against Borkowski in the fifth. Austin Kearns also homered in the rout and finished 2- for-2 with three RBI, while Jesus Flores added a two-run single for Washington, which won for only the second time in its last nine games.

Tim Redding (7-3) cruised through the first six innings for the Nationals, with the ex-Astro scattering seven hits and striking out six without a walk. Steven Shell completed the shutout by throwing the final three frames to earn his first career save.

Houston has now dropped eight of its last 10 contests and is 2-5 thus far on a nine-game road trip.

The Astros would be bolstered by a long outing out of Rodriguez this evening, although the Dominican southpaw hasn't pitched more than 5 2/3 innings in three of his last four starts. He hasn't lost during that stretch, however, posting one win and three no-decisions despite Houston losing all three of those contests he did not factor in.

Rodriguez was in line for his fourth victory of the season during Sunday's start at Atlanta, where he allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings while leaving with a 6-3 lead. However, the Houston bullpen gave up three late runs and Rodriguez was stuck with a no-decision.

The 29-year-old owns a 2-1 record with a 5.34 ERA in five lifetime starts against Washington, with tonight's tilt marking his first career appearance at the brand-new Nationals Ballpark.

The Astros will get their first look tonight at Washington rookie Collin Balester, who's delivered mixed results through two starts as a major leaguer.

Considered one of the top pitching prospects in the Nationals' system, Balester did not disappoint in his big league debut on July 1. The lanky 22- year-old held Florida to one run and a single hit over five innings to pick up the victory in Washington's 9-6 triumph at Dolphin Stadium.

Balester took a step back in Sunday's matchup at Cincinnati, where the young right-hander was roughed up for five runs in 5 2/3 innings to suffer the loss in the Nationals' 6-5 setback.

This will also be the first start at Nationals Ballpark for Balester, who has yielded just five hits through his first 10 2/3 innings pitched in the majors.

Houston won two of three matchups with the Nats at Minute Maid Park back in May, but Washington is 10-4 in its last 14 clashes against the Astros. Houston has also lost six of its last seven in D.C.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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