Marlins beat down Nationals; Morgan charges mound to start brawl

Baseball Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Helms drove in five runs and Florida blew out the Nationals, 16-10, in a game marred by a benches-clearing brawl in the sixth inning.

It was during the top of that frame when Washington center fielder Nyjer Morgan charged the mound and punched Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad. Both players were ejected.

Florida was ahead 15-5 with one out in the inning when Volstad threw a pitch behind Morgan, who was hit on the right side by an offering in the fourth frame. The Marlins were ahead 14-3 in the fourth, but Morgan stole second and third base during the inning.

In the sixth, though, Morgan became upset and immediately threw down his bat and charged the mound. Volstad tossed down his glove and Morgan connected with a left to the pitcher's neck.

Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez then raced in and delivered a clothes-line hit to Morgan, who immediately tumbled to the ground. Players for both teams scuffled near the mound and then Pat Listach, the third base coach for the Nationals, joined the fray by piling on Volstad and possibly throwing a punch.

After being ejected by home plate umpire Marvin Hudson and upon leaving the field with the front of his jersey unbuttoned, Morgan motioned to the crowd and banged his chest.

Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez and relief pitcher Jose Veras were also ejected.

The harsh feelings continued in the seventh inning when Nationals pitcher Doug Slaten was ejected for plunking Sanchez with a pitch. Nationals manager Jim Riggleman was also shown the door.

Donnie Murphy knocked in three runs for the Marlins, who took the rubber match of this three-game set. Murphy, though, departed the game with a dislocated right wrist.

The result was much different than Tuesday's 1-0 Marlins win that came in 10 innings on Chad Tracy's RBI single.

Mike Stanton delivered a two-run homer, while Cameron Maybin and Brad Davis added solo shots.

Ian Desmond ended with three hits and two RBI for Washington.

Nationals starter Scott Olsen (3-8) allowed eight hits and nine runs in 1 2/3 innings and lost his sixth straight start.

Volstad (9-9) yielded nine hits and six runs to win his third consecutive appearance.

Mike Morse singled in a run in the top of the first, but the Marlins scored 14 times over the first three frames. Helms' two-run doubled keyed the big opening frame, during which Hanley Ramirez and Davis also had run-scoring two- baggers.

Morgan and Desmond drove in runs in the top of the second, but Helms singled in a pair in the bottom half and Stanton's blast to left capped the five-run frame.

The Marlins continued to pour it on in the third. Sanchez singled in two runs and scored on a Murphy double. Helms followed with an RBI base hit for a 14-3 cushion.

Davis hit his first career homer in the fourth, before Adam Kennedy singled in a run in the top of the fifth.

The Nats got a bit closer in the explosive sixth thanks to three runs, the last on a Danny Espinosa RBI double.

Wil Nieves homered in the seventh and pinch-hitter Willie Harris singled in a run for a 15-10 game before Maybin homered to left off Slaten to start the bottom half of the frame.

Game Notes

Earlier in the day, the Marlins selected the contracts of pitcher Jorge Sosa from Triple-A New Orleans and catcher Chris Hatcher from Double-A Jacksonville...Florida has won seven of the last eight encounters...The teams will meet for the final time in Washington from September 10-12.

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What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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