Howard, Phillies rally past winless Astros

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04/10/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Howard belted the go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning, leading the hot-hitting Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-6 decision over the winless Houston Astros.

Shane Victorino also had a two-run homer and three RBI, and Jayson Werth drove in three runs for the Phillies, who have grabbed the opening two contests of this three-game set. It also assured the Phillies of winning a series at Minute Maid Park for the first time since 2006, when they swept a three-game set, September 15-17.

The Phillies have double-digit hits in each of their first five games, tying the club record from 1926. They have 63 hits thus far this season.

It was an up-and-down contest for Phillies starter Jamie Moyer (1-0), who was charged with nine hits and five runs over six innings. The 47-year-old Moyer, who started his 24th major league season, retired the first eight batters he faced before seeing eight straight men reach base in the third when Houston scored five times to grab its first lead of the season.

The Phillies, though, rallied and won for the fourth time, while preventing Houston manager Brad Mills from posting his first victory.

Jason Michaels had a two-run homer and ended with three RBI, while Hunter Pence also drilled a two-run shot for Houston. The Astros are 0-5 for the first time since 1983, when they started the season at 0-9. Houston finished that season 85-77.

Felipe Paulino gave up four hits and four runs over five innings in the start for the Astros.

Brandon Lyon (0-1) retired the first two batters of the seventh inning, but Chase Utley walked. Howard then smashed a 2-1 pitch 434 feet, off the facade beyond the wall in left-center field for his third homer of the season and a 6-5 Phillies lead.

Werth and Raul Ibanez singled to put runners at the corners, and Victorino made it 7-5 with an RBI ground single to right field.

Victorino homered to right with Werth on base in the eighth. The hit came off Matt Lindstrom.

Michaels singled in Michael Bourn in the bottom of the ninth.

Howard's first time up, leading off the second inning, he hit a ball off the wall in left. The ball caromed off the shoulder of Carlos Lee and Howard ended up with a triple. Werth followed with a sacrifice fly to left-center.

The Phillies tacked on three more runs in the next inning. Howard walked on a high and outside pitch with the bases full and two outs. Werth then doubled to left field.

Moyer was cruising until the third when Paulino doubled to start Houston's big parade to the plate. Michaels then homered to left on a first pitch. Jeff Keppinger walked on four pitches and Pence hammered a ball over the wall in left to tie the game. Singles from Lee, Pedro Feliz and Chris Johnson loaded the bases, and Tommy Manzella hit a ball on a short-hop off the glove of third baseman Placido Polanco, giving Houston a 5-4 edge.

Manzella flied out in the fifth, leaving runners at the corners.

Game Notes

Each team had 11 hits...This was the 100th start in a Phillies uniform for Moyer, who became just the eighth starting pitcher in MLB history to start a game in four different decades. The seven previous pitchers to do so were Mike Morgan (1978-2001), Nolan Ryan (1966-1993), Jerry Reuss (1969-1990), Jim Kaat (1959-1982), Early Wynn (1939-1963), Bobo Newsom (1929-1953) and Jack Quinn (1909-1931)...Sunday will mark the battle of the Roys as Roy Halladay pitches for the Phillies against Roy Oswalt...The teams wore uniforms similar to those during the 1965 season...Pence has nine homers and 19 RBI in 19 career games against the Phillies.

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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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