Martinez knocks in four as BoSox sweep Angels
Baseball Betting Lines
05/06/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victor Martinez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and four runs batted in, leading the Red Sox in an 11-6 slugfest win over the Angels to sweep a four-game series at Fenway Park.
Dustin Pedroia added two hits and three runs scored, while Jeremy Hermida drove in three runs for the Red Sox, who have swept a four-game set from the Angels in Boston only one other time -- during consecutive doubleheaders on August 19-20, 1967.
Darnell McDonald knocked in a pair of runs, while Adrian Beltre went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the win.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-1) lasted only 5 1/3 innings in his second start of the season but earned the win nonetheless, allowing five runs, five hits and three walks.
Mike Napoli hit a two-run homer for the Angels, who have lost seven straight games for the first time since September 30-October 7, 2001. Howie Kendrick added two hits and two RBI, while Bobby Abreu reached base in all five of his plate appearances via two hits and three walks.
Scott Kazmir (2-2) struggled with his command, giving up seven runs on six hits and five walks in just 4 1/3 frames to receive the loss.
Trailing by two entering the fifth, Boston scored five times to move in front for good and knock Kazmir out of the game.
Marco Scutaro singled leading off, and Pedroia doubled down the left field line. Both runners scored on Martinez's ground ball double down the right field line, tying the score at 4-4, and Kevin Youkilis drew a walk.
After retiring Mike Lowell, Kazmir walked J.D. Drew, prompting the Angels to insert Brian Stokes into the game to pitch. Stokes looked to avoid damage after striking out Beltre, but Hermida sent a seeing-eye single up the middle to score two more runs, and McDonald finished the big inning with an RBI double for a 7-4 contest.
Matsuzaka was knocked out the following inning when he gave up a one-out double to Juan Rivera. Napoli then made it a one-run game with a two-out, two- run homer off Manny Delcarmen.
Boston responded with four more runs in the home sixth to widen the gap. Stokes loaded the bases with one out and walked Drew on five pitches to force in a run and end his outing.
Matt Palmer came on to pitch, but Beltre plated a run with a base hit, and another run scored when Hermida reached on an error. McDonald's RBI fielder's choice groundout capped the frame with the Red Sox holding an 11-6 advantage.
Boston's Hideki Okajima stranded a pair of runners in a scoreless seventh, and Ramon Ramirez induced an inning-ending double play in the eighth to maintain the five-run lead; he stayed on to pitch a scoreless ninth and cement the win.
The Angels did not take a swing at any of Matsuzaka's first 14 pitches in the first inning, as Erick Aybar and Abreu both walked to open up the frame. Torii Hunter singled through the middle to plate Aybar, and Hideki Matsui walked two batters later to re-load the bases with one out.
Rivera sent a ground ball to the shortstop Scutaro, who was able to get the out at second but couldn't complete the double play. A run scored on the play, and Kendrick followed with a two-run double off the wall in center for a 4-0 advantage.
Boston cut its deficit in half in the third on Martinez's two-run blast, his second of the season, that scored Pedroia, who had walked.
Game Notes
The Angels have never lost eight straight since manager Mike Scioscia joined the team in 2000...The last Boston four-game sweep of Los Angeles occurred on June 12-15, 1980 in California...The Angels are 0-6 in May for the first time in team history. Their worst start for a single month is 0-10 in July, 1974...Matsuzaka has allowed 11 earned runs in 10 innings this season...The Angels are 12-18 after 30 games for the first time since 1994...Time of game: 3:43.
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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.