Royals welcome Astros to town

Baseball Betting Lines

06/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a series victory over the National League Central's first-place team, the Kansas City Royals will try to take down one of that division's lesser members when the club returns to Kauffman Stadium this evening for a three-game set with the Houston Astros.

Kansas City held its own when matched up against NL Central front-runner Cincinnati this past weekend, taking two of the three meetings at Great American Ball Park and claiming a 7-3 decision in Sunday's rubber match behind a complete-game effort from reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke.

Greinke (2-8) held the Reds to five hits and struck out a season-best 12 hitters in ending a frustrating five-start winless streak. The 2009 All-Star did give up a pair of solo homers to Cincinnati's Joey Votto, but did not walk a batter and threw 77 of his 105 pitches for strikes.

"My slider felt like it was working," Greinke said. "And it's always real nice to get some runs. It makes it a lot easier when you have a comfortable lead."

Billy Butler staked Greinke to a 3-2 lead with a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning and added a two-RBI double in the seventh to extend the margin. The Royals first baseman finished the day with four hits in five at- bats.

David DeJesus also had a big day at the plate for Kansas City, winners of three of its last four overall, scoring four times and going 3-for-3 with a solo home run.

The Astros hope the Royals will be an easier challenge than their most recent opponent. Houston lost all three encounters with the defending world champion New York Yankees over the weekend, with the Bronx Bombers putting up a total of 22 runs in the series sweep.

New York won Sunday's finale by a 9-5 count, with Astros starter Brian Moehler (0-3) lasting just 4 2/3 innings and surrendering four runs while issuing five walks. That was a problem for Houston pitchers all throughout the day, as the team handed out 10 free passes while hitting a batter as well.

"[The walks] were a killer today, we had eight through five innings," Astros manager Brad Mills said afterward. "When you have a good hitting lineup, it's going to hurt you eventually. That was our Achilles [Sunday]."

Kevin Cash went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer for Houston, which entered the Yankees series off three consecutive wins at Colorado, while Tommy Manzella came through with a two-RBI single in a losing cause.

Mills will be expecting an improved showing on the mound from his team in tonight's opener. Considering the way scheduled starter Felipe Paulino has performed as of late, there's a good chance that will happen.

Paulino has strung together five consecutive quality starts and posted a sensational 1.75 earned run average over that stretch. Although the talented right-hander has managed just one win during that time, the Astros have prevailed in four of those games.

The 26-year-old has thrown eight innings in each of his last three assignments, including Wednesday's game at Coors Field in which he limited the Rockies to two runs and struck out seven despite not getting a decision. Paulino did notch a win in his previous start, however, after permitting just one run on five hits to best the Chicago Cubs on June 4.

The native Dominican will be searching for his road victory of 2010 as he opposes the Royals for the first time in his career. In five away starts so far this season, Paulino is 0-3 with a 4.41 ERA.

Kansas City will hand the ball to the struggling Kyle Davies this evening. The erratic right-hander has allowed five runs or more in three straight starts, recording a 1-2 mark and a poor 8.62 ERA during that span.

Davies did match a season best by pitching 6 2/3 innings this past Wednesday in Minnesota, but walked five men and was reached for five runs (four earned) to receive a loss. The former Atlanta Braves top prospect had been working on a week's rest after being tagged for six runs in just four innings in a 7-2 home setback to the Angels on June 2.

The 26-year-old carries a 1-3 record with a 4.00 ERA over five home starts into tonight's tilt and has never previously faced the Astros.

Kansas City won two of three bouts from Houston when these teams met at Minute Maid Park last season. The Astros are 5-1 all-time as the visitor in this series, however.

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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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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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