Reds, Leake hope to pad lead in NL Central in finale with Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Mike Leake can finish off a series sweep and keep the Cincinnati Reds in first place this afternoon when they close out a three- game set with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

The Reds lead the National League's Central Division by a half-game over St. Louis after a 7-0 defeat of Houston on Saturday. The Cardinals dropped their second straight, 6-5, to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Johnny Cueto dealt eight scoreless innings and Joey Votto slugged his league- leading 25th home run in Cincinnati's win.

Cueto (10-2) allowed four hits while walking one and striking out six for the Reds, which has won all five of its games this season in Houston. Jordan Smith finished the shutout by retiring the Astros without incident in the ninth.

Votto slugged a two-run home run in the first inning and finished 2-for-4, while Orlando Cabrera had three hits and scored twice and Laynce Nix added three hits and a pair of runs driven in.

Roy Oswalt (6-12) suffered a rare defeat to the Reds after yielding six runs on nine hits over five frames during which he walked one and struck out three for the Astros, who have dropped three of their last four.

Leake, who skipped from Arizona State to the big leagues this spring, has faced the Astros twice this season while recording an April 28 win in Houston and a no-decision on May 30 in Cincinnati. In those two starts, he's combined to allow 12 hits and a run in 13 innings while walking five and striking out eight.

He was 5-0 on the season before a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 16, and has recovered to go 2-0 in five starts since - including an 8-7 win over Washington on July 20.

The 22-year-old from San Diego is 3-0 in seven road starts.

Houston's Wandy Rodriguez faced the Reds in a May 28 start in Cincinnati and was a 15-6 loser after being raked for eight hits and eight runs in 3 1/3 innings. He's 6-7 in 17 starts against Cincinnati with a 4.52 earned run average.

Rodriguez was a wobbly 3-10 after a 9-3 loss to Texas in a June 18 interleague matchup in Houston, but has won four times in five starts since - including an 11-5 defeat of the Cubs in Chicago on Monday.

The 31-year-old is 4-5 at Minute Maid Park this season.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

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Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

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Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

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Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

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Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

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