05/09/2008 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ted Lilly tossed seven brilliant innings, and Derrek Lee homered as Chicago downed Arizona, 3-1, in the opener of a three- game set.
Lilly (3-4) allowed just one run on three hits, while walking two and fanning 10 for the Cubs, who have won two of their past three games. Carlos Marmol threw a scoreless eighth and Kerry Wood earned his sixth save of the year by hurling a perfect ninth to finish things.
Lilly and Alfonso Soriano drove in a run apiece for Chicago.
Chris Young homered to account for the Diamondbacks only offense. Stephen Drew, Chris Snyder and Augie Ojeda each recorded a hit for Arizona, which has lost two of three but still sports the best record in the big leagues, 23-13.
Dan Haren (4-2) was the hard-luck loser for the D-Backs, surrendering just two runs on five hits in seven innings.
Trailing 1-0, the Cubs finally got to Haren with a two-out rally in the fifth. Mark DeRosa started things with a double to left and Haren intentionally walked Reed Johnson in order to pitch to Lilly, who promptly singled up the middle to even things. Soriano followed with an RBI double down the left field line to make it a 2-1 game.
Arizona looked like it might get something started against Marmol in the eighth when Ojeda, a pinch hitter, led off the inning by singling to right.
But, with the Diamondbacks playing hit-and-run, Marmol punched out Eric Byrnes and Ojeda, despite having the bag stolen, was ruled out at second when Byrnes was also called for batter's interference after getting in the way of catcher Geovany Soto's throw to second.
Chicago added a much-needed insurance run in the home-half of the eighth when Lee drove a Juan Cruz hanging slider over the wall in left-center for his ninth home run of the year.
The Diamondbacks jumped on top in the first when Young belted a two-out, solo homer to left, his ninth of the year.
Game Notes
Before the game, the Cubs activated left-handed pitcher Scott Eyre from the 15-day disabled list and optioned left-handed pitcher Sean Marshall to Triple- A Iowa...This was the first meeting between the teams since last year's National League Division Series. The 2007 NL West champion Diamondbacks easily handled the Central-winning Cubs during that postseason skirmish, as Arizona swept the best-of-five series and clinched a berth into the NLCS with a 5-1 victory at Wrigley Field in Game 3...The Diamondbacks also won four of their six regular-season matchups with Chicago and are 16-6 against the Cubs (including last year's postseason) since the start of the 2005 campaign.
<< Rangers trade OF Mench to Toronto
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers traded outfielder Kevin
Mench to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday for cash considerations.
Mench, who in 2006 became one of just five players in MLB history to hit a
home run in sev
<< Padres release veteran OF Edmonds
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres released struggling
outfielder Jim Edmonds on Friday.
The 37-year-old Edmonds, who was acquired in a trade with the St. Louis
Cardinals in December, was batting just .178 wit
<< Russia, Finland win at Worlds
Halifax, Nova Scotia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the first shootout of the
tournament, Sergei Mozyakin and Alexei Morozov each scored in the shootout to
help Russia to a 4-3 win over Belarus at the 2008 World Hockey Championships.
Russi
<< New additions to Preakness cast
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Local winner Icabad Crane and Holy Bull
Stakes champ Hey Byrn have been added to the probable field for the middle
jewel of racing's Triple Crown. As many as 12 to 14 three-year-olds may enter
the sta
Soto receives NL Rookie of the Month award >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto was named
National League Rookie of the Month for April.
The backstop recorded a .341 average (29-for-85) with five home runs and 20
RBI in 23 games for Chicago, which h
Cavs' Wallace doubtful for Game 3 >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers big man Ben Wallace is
being listed as doubtful for Game 3 in the team's Eastern Conference
semifinals series versus Boston set for Saturday.
Wallace, who was forced out of
Short-handed Blue Jays sign OF Wilkerson >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays agreed to terms with
free-agent outfielder Brad Wilkerson on Friday. Terms of the contract were not
disclosed.
Wilkerson, who signed with Seattle in January after two seasons with
Stars snag free agent forward Brunnstrom >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars inked free agent forward Fabian
Brunnstrom to a two-year entry-level contract on Friday.
"We are very excited to get the caliber of player that Fabian is under
contract for the next two
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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