Stewart's HR in 12th lifts Rockies over Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

05/06/2010 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Stewart smacked the game-winning homer in the top of the 12th inning, as the Colorado Rockies snuck past the San Diego Padres, 6-5, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Petco Park.

Tim Stauffer (2-1), who pitched a perfect 10th and 11th, stayed on for the 12th. But Stewart stepped to the plate and blasted a 2-0 changeup over the wall in left to give the Rockies the lead. Colorado went on to put men on first and second, but Stauffer got out of the inning with just the one run.

Manuel Corpas (1-1) tossed 2 2/3 scoreless frames of relief for the Rockies, who recorded their first road series win of the season. Starter Aaron Cook went five frames, allowing five runs on six hits.

Clint Barmes went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and a run scored for Colorado, which got an RBI apiece from Seth Smith and Melvin Mora.

Kyle Blanks went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored for the Padres, who went 4-3 on a seven-game homestand. Clayton Richard also knocked in a pair of runs in defeat.

Richard allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts and five walks in a five-inning start.

In the 10th, the Padres put runners on first and second with one out. Corpas then took over on the mound and retired the first two batters he faced to keep it a tie game.

The Padres got on the board in the second inning. Chase Headley led off with a single, advanced to second on Will Venable's groundout, and scored on Blanks' double to center.

Colorado plated three runs in the third to go in front. Dexter Fowler singled, Troy Tulowitzki walked, and Carlos Gonzalez singled to load the bases with one out. Mora then walked to force in a run. After Miguel Olivo struck out, Barmes hit a two-run single to left. Mora was thrown out trying to advance to third on the play.

San Diego put a four-spot up in the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. With runners on the corners and one out, Blanks and Jerry Hairston Jr. hit back-to-back RBI singles. Two batters later, Richard helped his own cause with a two-run double to left.

The Rockies, though, fought back with two runs in the sixth. Edward Mujica started the frame on the mound and walked Olivo, who crossed the plate on Barmes' double to right. Pinch-hitter Smith then hit an RBI triple to right to make it a 5-5 game. Mujica retired the next two batters before Joe Thatcher was called on to record the last out.

Neither team put together a serious scoring threat over the final few frames, forcing extras.

Game Notes

The Rockies won two of three at home over the Padres from April 9-11 and took five of the nine meetings last year at Petco Park...Despite the loss, the Padres have won six of their last nine games...Stauffer didn't allow a run in his first 17 1/3 innings this season until the homer...Stauffer had his career-best, season-opening, scoreless inning streak snapped at 17 1/3 innings when Stewart hit a solo home run to lead off the 12th inning...Colorado committed a season-high tying three errors...The Padres had their five-series winning streak snapped.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.