O's begin series north of the border with Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Slumping rookie right-hander Jesse Litsch will try for his first win since August 23 and just his second since late July tonight when the Toronto Blue Jays open a three-game series with the visiting Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre.

Litsch, a 22-year-old product of Pinellas Park, Florida, was 4-4 after a 2-0 blanking of Tampa Bay on July 31. He's 1-4 since, however, including consecutive losses to Boston and the Devil Rays in his last two starts on September 3 and 9.

Litsch has faced the Orioles once during the slide, dropping a 5-3 decision on Aug. 18 in which he allowed six hits and two earned runs in six innings. He beat them in his major-league debut on May 15, scattering four hits and allowing a single run in 8 2/3 innings of a 2-1 Toronto victory.

Second-year lefty Brian Burres makes a rare start for the Orioles.

The 26-year-old has made 13 starts in 33 appearances this season after being used exclusively out of the bullpen in all 11 games of his first season with the team in 2006.

In his last outing, on September 7, Burres allowed a hit and a run in 2 2/3 innings of a 4-0 loss to Boston.

He started and lost against Toronto on May 16, allowing seven hits and two runs in five innings of a 2-1 defeat.

On Thursday in Baltimore, Jon Leicester tossed 5 2/3 innings and combined with three other relievers in a five-hit shutout as the Orioles took the finale of their three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 3-0.

One night after the Orioles staff surrendered 18 runs, Leicester (2-1) allowed just four hits, striking out one and walking three. Jim Hoey, Chad Bradford and Jamie Walker then combined for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, combining to give up just one hit.

Luis Hernandez had a career-high three hits, Jay Payton was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Scott Moore drove in a pair of runs for the O's, who won for just the second time in their last eight games.

In Toronto, Frank Thomas drove in the game-winning run in the ninth inning as the Blue Jays downed the New York Yankees, 2-1, in the finale of a three-game set.

In the ninth, with Chris Britton (0-1) starting on the mound for the Yankees, Alex Rios led off with a single, stole second, and then crossed the plate when Thomas hit a single up the middle to win the game.

Thomas drove in both runs while Russ Adams also scored a run for the Blue Jays, who snapped a five-game losing streak.

Scott Downs (3-2) got the win for getting two outs in the ninth. A.J. Burnett was stellar in the start, as he gave up just one run on four hits with eight strikeouts in eight innings of work.

Toronto has won seven of its 12 matchups with the Orioles this season and is 28-22 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

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