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Oswalt goes the distance, Berkman hits two HRs as Astros sweep Bucs

Baseball Betting Lines

07/08/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman belted two solo home runs to support Roy Oswalt's complete-game one-hitter in Houston's 2-0 blanking of Pittsburgh that completed a three-game sweep at Minute Maid Park.

Oswalt (6-10) issued a pair of walks and struck out eight and allowed only a first-inning single by Neil Walker to finish off his first full-distance shutout since he blanked the Pirates on September 11, 2008.

Ross Ohlendorf (1-7) was the hard-luck loser after yielding both runs on seven hits over seven frames while walking one and fanning five for the Pirates, who have dropped four out of five.

Berkman went the other way and lifted a home run into the Crawford Boxes in left field to give the Astros a 1-0 lead and score the 1,000th run of his career.

The veteran first baseman replicated what he did in his first at-bat in his next trip to the plate in the fourth to give the Astros a 2-0 lead and put together the 25th multi-home run game of his career.

Andrew McCutchen was the only Pirates baserunner to reach second base after he walked with one out in the sixth and advanced on a two-out balk.

Pittsburgh's Ryan Church just missed a home run, as he flied out to Hunter Pence at the wall in right field to end the seventh inning.

Angel Sanchez tripled with one out in the home seventh but didn't score after Oswalt flied out to shallow centerfield and Garrett Jones made a running catch on a Michael Bourn fly ball to right.

Berkman also helped out defensively, as he made a diving catch on a Jose Tabata line drive leading off in the ninth. Oswalt then struck out Walker and Jones to end the game and a career-high six-game home losing streak.

Game Notes

Berkman has hit a long ball in four consecutive games for the first time since July 29-August 2, 2007...Craig Biggio (1,844) and Jeff Bagwell (1,517) are the other Astros to have crossed the 1,000 run threshold...Oswalt earned his 143rd career victory, one shy of Joe Niekro's team record...His last win at home was over the Pirates on April 23...Oswalt is 15-7 in his career against the Buccos, including a 9-3 mark in 15 home starts...Astros second baseman Jeff Keppinger was 0-for-4 and lost a nine-game hit streak. Houston is 22-6 against the Pirates since September 8, 2008 and 61-23 against them at Minute Maid Park...Ohlendorf is 0-6 in eight games, including six starts, against the Astros...Pittsburgh pitching has allowed 11 home runs in the last five games.

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What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

  • Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
    OR
  • Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

  • There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.

    The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:

    Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots

    Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.

    For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

    Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

  • Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
    OR
  • Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

    Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

    Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21

    The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.

    Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.

    Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).

    Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.

    And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.

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