Lee ends long HR drought in ninth to snap 'Stros skid

Baseball Betting Lines

05/05/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Lee picked a good time to hit his first home run of the season, hammering the first pitch he saw from Juan Gutierrez in the ninth inning to lift Houston to a 4-2 victory over Arizona.

With the score tied in the home ninth, Lee, who was batting a mere .198 coming into the game, followed Kaz Matsui's leadoff walk with a shot that cleared the stadium in left field to snap the Astros' eight-game skid.

Matt Lindstrom (1-0) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to pick up the win behind Brett Myers, who gave up two runs on six hits and three walks in seven innings. Tommy Manzella recorded his first career home run, a two-run shot in the victory.

Gerardo Parra tripled, doubled and drove in two for the Diamondbacks, who had won the first two games of this four-game set. Gutierrez (0-4) was credited with the loss, while Rodrigo Lopez gave up two runs on three hits in a seven- inning start.

Parra tripled with two outs in the second to bring home Mark Reynolds, who led off the inning with a single.

Manzella countered in the bottom half with a two-out, two-run shot to end a streak of 18 straight scoreless innings for Arizona pitchers. Pedro Feliz beat out a possible inning-ending double-play ball prior to the blast.

Back-to-back doubles by Chris Young and Parra tied the game in the fourth, and the D'Backs stranded runners on second and third in the frame.

With runners on first and second and one out in the top of the ninth, Lindstrom kept it tied by getting Kelly Johnson to ground back to the mound en route to a 1-6-3 double play.

Game Notes

It was Lee's first homer in 154 at-bats dating back to September 16 of last season. It was his fifth career walk-off home run...Houston will go for the series split on Thursday with Wandy Rodriguez facing off against Arizona ace Dan Haren...Arizona had won the previous six matchups between the clubs...Stephen Drew doubled twice in the loss.

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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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