Hernandez pitches Nats over Reds for series split

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Livan Hernandez threw his second complete game of the season and Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer to power Washington's offense, as the Nationals topped the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1, in the finale of a four-game series.

Hernandez (7-6) gave up one run on seven hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five. The right-hander snapped a two-start losing streak and got his first victory since June 21.

Roger Bernadina hit a solo home run, while Adam Kennedy went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Nationals, who won Wednesday's game and gained a split in the series.

Edinson Volquez (1-1), in his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery, gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings to take the loss.

Ramon Hernandez was brought off the disabled list Thursday and drove in the lone run for the Reds, who allowed 24 runs in the series.

Saturday against Colorado, in his first start this season, Volquez allowed a run in six innings and struck out nine. However, he was decidedly less effective Thursday.

The Nationals got a run in the first inning, when Nyjer Morgan walked, stole second, moved to third on a flyout, then scored on a groundout from Ryan Zimmerman.

Volquez got out of that inning, but put himself in a bad position in the second, when he walked the bases loaded with one away. Livan Hernandez followed with an RBI single, and another run scored when Morgan grounded into a fielder's choice, making it a 3-0 game.

Then in the third, Zimmerman led off with a single before Dunn hit his 23rd homer of the season. Volquez threw a fastball away, and Dunn blasted it to left field.

Willie Harris later tripled, then scored on Kennedy's single, and that was the end of Volquez's day. Carlos Fisher entered and threw 3 2/3 scoreless relief innings, but by that point the Reds were too far behind.

Cincinnati scored its only run in the fourth, when Ramon Hernandez grounded into a fielder's choice with runners on the corners. Livan Hernandez shut the Reds down from there, and Bernadina added his sixth homer of the year in the seventh.

Game Notes

Volquez gave up five hits, walked four and struck out four. He threw only 38 of his 75 pitches for strikes...Harris finished with two hits...Ramon Hernandez, who played first base Thursday, was on the DL with inflammation in his left knee. In addition to bringing him off the DL, the Reds outrighted catcher Corky Miller to Triple-A Louisville and signed free agent pitcher Jason Isringhausen to a minor league contract.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.