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Back in first: Phillies edge Marlins to grab top spot in NL East

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Placido Polanco's eighth-inning two-out RBI single was the difference, as Philadelphia nipped Florida, 8-7, in the third installment of a four-game series.

The victory, coupled with Atlanta's loss at Pittsburgh, lofted the two-time defending NL champs into first place in the NL East by a half-game over the Braves. The Phillies hadn't seen the top of the division since May 30.

Raul Ibanez finished 3-for-4 with a homer and drove in three runs, while Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard also added solo shots for the Phillies, who have taken seven of their last nine overall.

Ryan Madson (5-2) allowed Florida's tying run to score in the top of the eighth, but picked up the win by getting the final four outs.

Logan Morrison doubled twice and knocked in a run for the Marlins, who have dropped two in a row since taking the opener of a day-night doubleheader on Monday. Mike Stanton finished 2-for-4 with a solo shot in defeat.

Jose Veras (2-2) was charged with the loss after allowing the game-winning hit.

In the eighth, Stanton's solo homer off Jose Contreras made it 7-5, then Brad Davis doubled with one out. With two outs, Emilio Bonifacio singled, and Davis scored on a Jayson Werth throwing error, which sent Bonifacio to second. J.C. Romero came in only to balk Bonifacio to third, then walked Morrison, paving the way for Madson. The lanky right-hander uncorked a wild pitch to score Bonifacio with the tying run before fanning Hanley Ramirez.

Veras gave up a two-out single to Victorino, who stole second before coming in when Polanco punched a hit through the right side. Chase Utley walked and Howard barely missed a three-run shot that was caught in front of the center- field wall, but the Phils snagged a one-run edge, 8-7.

Madson fanned Dan Uggla swinging and got Gaby Sanchez on a flyout to left before walking Stanton. Wes Helms then went down swinging on a high and outside 1-2 fastball to end the game.

The Phils broke through in the second, as Howard doubled and scored on a Jimmy Rollins base hit.

Florida came back with two in the third as Bonifacio singled and went to second on Blanton's error on a Morrison grounder. After a groundout moved up both runners, Uggla plated one with a grounder to first and Sanchez added an RBI single.

The Fish tacked on one more in the fourth as Cameron Maybin started with a triple and scored on a Davis groundout.

Ibanez reached the seats in left-center with one out in the home half, then the home team picked up three in the fifth to move ahead 5-3 on a Victorino leadoff homer, a two-out solo shot from Howard and an RBI hit by Ibanez.

Florida trimmed its deficit to 5-4 in the seventh. Bonifacio walked with one out then Morrison drove him in with a double off Antonio Bastardo. Morrison advanced to third on a wild throw home, but Chad Durbin cleaned up the mess by getting Ramirez on a foul out and Sanchez on a flyout.

Polanco singled to start the home half, moved to second on a passed ball, reached third on a groundout and scored after an intentional walk to Howard on a Rollins sac fly. Ibanez followed with an RBI triple, and the home team had what appeared to be a safe 7-4 edge.

Game Notes

Philadelphia has won nine of 14 from Florida this season and evened their record against the Marlins at home to 4-4...Late Monday, the Phillies recalled outfielder John Mayberry, Jr. from Triple-A Lehigh Valley...The Phils also scratched outfielder Domonic Brown with a quadriceps injury...Bonifacio ended with three hits and scored three runs...Polanco had three hits, and Howard crossed the plate three times...Philly starter Joe Blanton allowed six hits and four runs over 6 1/3 innings, and Florida hurler Chris Volstad yielded five runs and nine hits over five full frames.

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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.

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.

Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards