Ramirez's three homers propels Cubs over Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aramis Ramirez recorded his fourth career three-homer game and drove in seven runs, as the Chicago Cubs rallied past the Houston Astros, 14-7, in the second installment of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

Derrek Lee knocked in three runs and scored three times for the Cubs, who bounced back from an 11-5 loss in the opener of this series on Monday. Geovany Soto hit a solo homer for the victors.

Ryan Dempster went five innings in the start, allowing seven runs -- four earned -- on eight hits. Andrew Cashner (1-3) tossed two innings of scoreless relief to pick up his first win in the majors.

Chicago manager Lou Piniella announced earlier in the day that he will retire at the conclusion of the season. Piniella is in his fourth year as the manager of the Cubs. He guided the team to a winning record in each of his first three years, but the team is just 43-52 this season.

Chris Johnson hit a solo homer, drove in two runs, and scored twice for the Astros, who have dropped three of four.

Wesley Wright lasted 4 2/3 frames in his first major league start, giving up six runs on six hits. Brandon Lyon (5-4) allowed two runs on three hits in one inning of relief to take the loss.

Trailing by six runs, 7-1, Chicago scored five times in the home fifth to get back into the game. Soto singled, moved to third when Ryan Theriot reached on Jeff Keppinger's throwing error, and scored on a passed ball. Starlin Castro knocked in a run when he grounded out. After Derrek Lee walked, Ramirez smacked a three-run homer to left-center to cut the gap to 7-6. Wilton Lopez was called upon from the bullpen two batters later to keep Houston in front.

The Cubs tied the contest in the sixth on Soto's blast to center off Chris Sampson.

Chicago took the lead in the seventh. Lyon started the inning on the mound for the Astros. Starlin Castro doubled off the wall in left-center and crossed the plate on Derrek Lee's double. Alfonso Soriano knocked in Lee with a two-out single for a 9-7 lead.

The Cubs scored five more times in the eighth to account for the final margin. Gary Majewski loaded the bases with one out. Derrek Lee hit a two-run single before Ramirez blasted a three-run homer over the wall in left.

The Astros scored four runs in the second. After Hunter Pence flied out to begin the inning, Carlos Lee doubled and Keppinger walked. Johnson followed with an RBI single. Jason Castro then reached base on Theriot's throwing error, which allowed Keppinger to score and the runners to advance to second and third. Michael Bourn walked to load the bases with two outs. Dempster's control issues continued as he hit Angel Sanchez with a pitch and walked Lance Berkman to plate two more runs. Pence popped out to end the frame.

Houston added two more runs in the top of the fourth to make it 6-0. Sanchez doubled and Berkman walked with two outs. Pence and Carlos Lee followed with back-to-back RBI base hits.

Ramirez hit a solo homer to left in the home fourth to make it a five-run game. Johnson, though, responded with a solo shot of his own in the top of the fifth to make it 7-1.

Game Notes

Houston has won five of eight matchups with Chicago this season, one year after the Cubs took 11 of the 17 matchups between the two clubs....The Cubs optioned pitcher Mitch Atkins to Triple-A Iowa and recalled pitcher Jeff Stevens from the same club...Wright became the first Astro to make their first Major League start for the club since Lopez started for Houston on September 29, 2009 at Philadelphia. Tuesday was Wright's 127th major league appearance.

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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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