Rays top Phils, take two of three in WS rematch
Baseball Betting Lines
06/26/2009 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willy Aybar went 3-for-4 with a homer and three runs batted in, as the Tampa Bay Rays routed the Phillies, 10-4, in the rubber match of a three-game set between last season's World Series participants.
Aybar started at third base in place of Evan Longoria, who was held out of the lineup for precautionary reasons because of recent hamstring stiffness.
Jason Bartlett went 2-for-5 with an RBI, extending his career-high hitting streak to a club-record 19 games. He broke the original record held by Quinton McCracken.
Ben Zobrist had two hits -- including a two-run homer -- while Carl Crawford doubled twice, walked, and drove in two for the Rays, who have won four of five overall. Former Phillie Pat Burrell had two hits and an RBI in the win.
Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine (6-7) gave up four runs in the first inning, but held the Phillies scoreless for the remainder of his 5 1/3-inning outing. In total, Sonnanstine allowed six hits, walked one and struck out seven.
"I thought he did a nice job as the game [went on], he settled in nicely, he made better pitches," Rays manager Joe Maddon said of Sonnanstine. "We've seen him do that this year...He's a professional, he settled himself down, and he put those zeros up and permitted us to come back."
The Phillies' early four-run lead evaporated as Philadelphia starter Antonio Bastardo (2-3) allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks in 3 2/3 frames, before he exited with an apparent injury.
Chad Durbin followed Bastardo and allowed three more runs in two innings, as the Phillies continued to struggle in interleague play. Since the most recent stretch began on June 12 they have lost 10 of 12 games, and been swept in two series (by Toronto and Baltimore).
Ryan Howard hit a two-run double for Philadelphia, while Pedro Feliz went 2- for-4 with an RBI.
The Phillies jumped on top in the first inning, when Greg Dobbs and Chase Utley hit consecutive one-out singles. Howard then blasted a ball deep to right-center field that bounced off the base of the wall, plating both runners.
Howard later scored on Matt Stairs' double, and Stairs crossed the plate on Feliz's RBI single.
But the Rays took over from there, getting three runs back in the bottom of the first. Burrell hit a two-out single and scored on Carlos Pena's double. Zobrist followed with a homer into the left field corner to make it a 4-3 game.
"We were focused. We came out, we got four runs tonight," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "The whole momentum of the game shifted when they put three [runs] back on the board...That's how the game goes, sometimes."
Aybar led off the second with a homer off the left field foul pole to even the contest, and Gabe Kapler followed with a double. Dioner Navarro's bloop single then put runners in scoring position with no outs.
After B.J. Upton popped out, Crawford plated a run with a double to left. Burrell hit a soft grounder back up the middle and was thrown out at first, but the play scored Navarro to give the Rays a 6-4 edge.
The Phillies wasted a scoring opportunity in the sixth when, with runners on the corners and one away, Eric Bruntlett hit a fly to center. Stairs aimed to tag up from third as Upton caught the ball, but Feliz ran all the way to second and was doubled up, ending the inning before Stairs crossed the plate.
The Rays then stole all the momentum, tacking on three runs in the home half. Bartlett had an RBI single, and Aybar followed with a two-run hit. Crawford's fielder's choice plated a run in the seventh to complete the scoring.
Game Notes
Phillies starting shortstop Jimmy Rollins was benched for Thursday's game because of recent poor play. Bruntlett started at short and went 0- for-4...McCracken had an 18-game hitting streak from August 18-September 9, 1998...Eight of Tampa Bay's 15 hits were for extra bases.
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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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