Football Betting

Wellemeyer pitches Cardinals over Giants

Baseball Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Wellemeyer threw 7 1/3 innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals take a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants and split a four-game series.

Wellemeyer (7-7) scattered seven hits and two runs with a walk and six strikeouts for the Cardinals, who won the final two games of the series. Ryan Ludwick drove in two runs while Brendan Ryan scored twice.

Barry Zito (4-8) was tagged for all five runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in just 4 1/3 innings for the Giants, who have lost two straight on the heels of a three-game winning streak. Aaron Rowand hit a two- run homer to account for the offense.

The Cardinals got all the runs they needed in the opening inning. The first three batters reached safely to load the bases and Ludwick beat out an infield single to chase home Ryan. Yadier Molina then worked a walk to force home Skip Schumaker and Chris Duncan hit into a fielder's choice that scored Albert Pujols for a 3-0 lead.

San Francisco had baserunners in each of the first five innings, but only got a man to second twice, in the first and third innings.

St. Louis padded its lead in the fifth. With men on second and third, Schumaker grounded out to bring home Colby Rasmus. Later in the frame, an RBI single from Ludwick brought home Ryan for a 5-0 advantage.

The Giants got on the board in the eighth to spoil Wellemeyer's shutout bid. Pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz led off with a single and Rowand followed with a shot that just cleared the wall in left for his ninth home run to make it a 5-2 game.

Ryan Franklin, though, shut down San Francisco in order in the ninth to grab his 19th save of the season.

Game Notes

St. Louis hits the road and starts a three-game set in Cincinnati on Friday...San Francisco returns home to start a three-game series in Houston on Friday...The Giants took four of the seven games against St. Louis this season and have won the series the past three seasons...Before the game, St. Louis agreed to terms with 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo. He is considered to be the top amateur free agent on the market from Latin America this year.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

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