Fukudome helps Cubs down Pirates

Baseball Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kosuke Fukudome finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and an RBI as the Chicago Cubs set aside Pittsburgh, 5-3, in the finale of a three-game set from Wrigley Field.

Tyler Colvin, Micah Hoffpauir, Koyie Hill and Jeff Baker each knocked in a run for the Cubs, who took two of three in the series.

Thomas Diamond (1-3) picked up his first major-league win, despite allowing two hits and two runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Starter Tom Gorzelanny exited after 2 2/3 innings when a line drive from Jose Tabata struck his left hand.

Carlos Marmol recorded the final four outs, and fanned three in a scoreless ninth to earn his 25th save.

Neal Walker had three hits including a solo homer while Andrew McCutchen drove in two runs for the Pirates, who have lost five of six.

James McDonald (2-5) took the loss after yielding eight hits and three runs, fanning six and walking two over five full frames.

After Walker's ninth home run of the season tied the game in the third, the Cubs moved ahead for good in the home half.

Starlin Castro singled with one down and Fukudome followed by doubling him in. Two batters later, a Colvin double plated Fukudome for a 3-1 contest.

McCutchen doubled home McDonald with one out in the fifth to get within a run, but Chicago tallied twice in the seventh on a Hoffpauir RBI single and a base hit from Baker to score Fukudome.

McCutchen's bases-loaded walk against Marmol in the eighth made it 5-3, but the Cubs closer fanned Tabata to end the frame.

Marmol then struck out the side in the ninth to close out the game.

Hill drove in Darwin Barney, who singled with two out in the second, to get the Cubs on the board.

Tabata's line-drive with one out in the third deflected off Gorzelanny's hand before being caught by Chicago second-baseman Blake DeWitt.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh still leads the season series, 10-5, including five of nine at Wrigley...Mike Quade improved to 6-3 since taking over for Lou Piniella...Prior to the game, the Pirates recalled outfielder John Bowker from Triple-A Indianapolis.

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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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