Dodgers take losing streak into Houston

Baseball Betting Lines

09/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to avoid a season-high sixth consecutive loss this evening when they open a four-game series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

The Dodgers' playoff chances took a big hit this week, as they dropped two of three at home to the San Francisco Giants, then lost all three games of their series to the National League West-leading San Diego Padres, falling 4-0 on Wednesday to drop 11 games back of the division leaders.

Matt Kemp doubled for the Dodgers, who have dropped seven of eight to fall two games below .500 (69-71). Chad Billingsley (11-9) surrendered four runs, six hits and five walks in just 5 1/3 frames to take the loss.

"(Billingsley) certainly deserved a better fate, but we didn't score any runs," said Los Angeles manager Joe Torre.

Tonight, the Dodgers will turn to lefty Ted Lilly, who is 8-9 on the season with a 3.55 earned run average. Lilly did not get a decision on Saturday against the Giants, as he allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings of his team's 5-4 loss.

Since being acquired from the Cubs, Lilly has gone 5-1 with a 3.18 ERA over seven starts.

Lilly has dominated the Astros over the course of his career, going 7-1 against them with a 2.19 ERA in 12 starts.

Lilly will be opposed by righty Bud Norris, who is winless in his last three starts. Norris did not get a decision on Saturday in Arizona, but was hit hard, as he surrendered five runs and eight hits with three walks in just 4 2/3 innings of his team's 6-5 triumph. He is 6-8 on the year with a 5.34 ERA.

Norris lost to the Dodgers the only other time he faced them, allowing six runs in 4 1/3 frames back on May 18.

Houston comes into tonight's tilt red-hot after taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs. On Wednesday, Brett Myers struck out eight in seven shutout innings to continue his dominance of the Cubs and lead the Astros to a 4-0 win.

Myers (11-7) allowed just three hits and walked one, improving to 3-0 in four starts against Chicago this season. He has given up only four earned runs in those outings (1.21 ERA) and struck out 34 in 29 2/3 innings.

Additionally, Myers extended his franchise record by pitching at least six innings for the 29th consecutive start.

Houston got a home run from Hunter Pence and run-scoring hits out of Humberto Quintero and Chris Johnson to win for the fourth time in five games and for the eighth time in its last 10 tries.

"Every time he goes out there, as you've seen, he's given us six innings or more every outing," Pence said of Myers. "Just gives you a great chance to win. He competes, he knows what he's doing out there. It's fun to play behind him."

The Dodgers swept a two-game series from the Astros back in May.

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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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