Angels roll on with rout of Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

06/05/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ervin Santana allowed one run in six solid innings and Torii Hunter continued his torrid stretch with three hits and three RBI, as the Angels remained hot with an 11-2 rout of the Seattle Mariners.

Santana (6-3) won his fifth consecutive start after scattering seven hits and three walks while fanning two for Los Angeles, which has won four straight and seven of eight to move two games above .500 (30-28) for the first time all season.

Hunter, meanwhile, has driven in at least one run in four consecutive games and has nine RBI in that stretch. Maicer Izturis and Howie Kendrick each added two hits, two RBI and two runs scored in the victory.

Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-3 and scored his 1,000th career run for the Mariners, who have lost two straight after a three-game win streak. Ryan Rowland-Smith, starting for the first time since May 17, gave up just one run in five innings, but Garrett Olson (0-1) allowed three runs while recording just one out to receive the loss.

Olson began on the mound for Seattle in the sixth with the game tied, 1-1, and immediately ran into trouble.

Hunter began the frame with a double and scored the go-ahead run two batters later on a Mike Napoli single. Napoli moved to second on a wild pitch, prompting Olson to intentionally walk Juan Rivera.

Shawn Kelley relieved Olson, but the Angels' offense kept producing. Bobby Wilson walked to load the bases with one out, and Erick Aybar made it 3-1 with an RBI groundout. With runners now on second and third, Izturis plated both with a single to left.

Kendrick was then hit by a pitch, and Bobby Abreu walked to reload the bases with two away. Hunter and Hideki Matsui followed with back-to-back walks to force in a pair of runs for a 7-1 advantage. Napoli, the 12th batter of the inning, finally ended the rally with a groundout to second.

Los Angeles poured it on in the seventh with four runs. With the bases loaded and one out, Kendrick drove in two with a single to center, and after an Abreu walk reloaded the bases, Hunter plated two more with a double to right for an 11-1 game.

Chone Figgins' RBI single in the ninth for the M's accounted for the final margin.

Abreu's sacrifice fly in the third inning gave the Angels the early lead, but Suzuki doubled, moved to third on a bunt single and scored on Franklin Gutierrez's groundout to help Seattle tie the score in the fifth.

Game Notes

The Angels played without manager Mike Scioscia, who left the team for two games to attend his daughter's high school graduation. Bench coach Ron Roenicke served as the interim manager, and the Angels improved to 6-0 with him at the helm...Los Angeles leads the season series, 6-2...Seattle's Doug Fister was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday with a fatigued shoulder...Mariners third baseman Jose Lopez had an 11-game hit streak snapped.

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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.

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